NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel鈥檚 late-night show indefinitely beginning Wednesday after comments that he made about Charlie Kirk’s killing led a group of ABC-affiliated stations to say it would not air the show and provoked some ominous comments from a top federal regulator.
made several remarks about the reaction to the conservative activist’s assassination last week on 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live!鈥 Monday and Tuesday nights, including that 鈥渕any in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.鈥
ABC, which has aired Kimmel’s late-night show since 2003, moved swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday. Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death 鈥渁re offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,鈥 said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates.
There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. ABC’s statement did not cite a reason for why his show was preempted.
President Donald Trump celebrated ABC’s move on the social media site Truth Social, writing: 鈥淐ongratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.鈥
Earlier in the day, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s comments 鈥渢ruly sick鈥 and said his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation. He said the comic appeared to be making an intentional effort to mislead the public that Kirk’s assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter.
During his Monday evening monologue, Kimmel suggested Kirk鈥檚 alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. 鈥淭he MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,鈥 Kimmel said. 鈥淚n between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.鈥
鈥淭his is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,鈥 Carr said on the Benny Johnson podcast. 鈥淲e can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.鈥
Authorities say the 22-year-old grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but was enmeshed in 鈥渓eftist ideology.鈥 His parents told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year. His voter status is inactive, meaning in two regular general elections. He told his transgender partner that he targeted Kirk because he 鈥渉ad enough of his hatred.鈥
The business landscape around late-night television
Both Disney and Nexstar have FCC business ahead of them. Disney is seeking regulatory approval for ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network and Nexstar needs the Trump administration go-ahead to complete its $6.2 billion purchase of broadcast rival Tegna.
For both companies, reinstating Kimmel after a suspension would risk the ire of Trump, who has already claimed that the show has been canceled.
While CBS said this past summer that it was next May for financial reasons, some critics have wondered if his stance on Trump played a role. Both Colbert and Kimmel have made the president the frequent target of his jokes. Soon after the Colbert cancellation, the FCC approved CBS parent company Paramount鈥檚 long-pending deal with Skydance.
Trump similarly celebrated Colbert’s impending exit. 鈥淚 absolutely love that Colbert got fired,鈥 Trump said then. 鈥淗is talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.鈥
Within the past year, both Disney and CBS parent Paramount chose to settle lawsuits brought by Trump against their news divisions rather than fight it out in court.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the administration for 鈥渦sing the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression鈥 in a post on X.
鈥淎nother media outlet withered under government pressure, ensuring that the administration will continue to extort and exact retribution on broadcasters and publishers who criticize it,鈥 said Ari Cohn, lead counsel for tech policy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. 鈥淲e cannot be a country where late-night talk show hosts serve at the pleasure of the president.鈥
The scene outside Kimmel’s studio after show was suspended
Kimmel departed the Hollywood theater where his show is taped about three hours after ABC鈥檚 decision. He was seen wearing a black hat, backpack and plaid shirt and kept his head down as he entered a waiting vehicle.
An audience was lined up outside the theater where 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live!鈥 tapes when they were told Wednesday鈥檚 show was canceled.
鈥淲e were just about to walk in 鈥 interestingly enough, they waited to pull the plug on this right as the studio audience was about to walk in,鈥 Tommy Williams, a would-be audience member from Jacksonville, Florida, told The Associated Press outside the theater. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 tell us what had happened. They just said that the show was canceled.鈥
More of what Kimmel said on his show
Kimmel said that Trump’s response to Kirk’s death 鈥渋s not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?鈥 He also said that FBI chief Kash Patel has handled the investigation into the killing 鈥渓ike a kid who didn’t read the book, BSing his way through an oral report.鈥
He returned to the topic on Tuesday night, mocking Vice President JD Vance’s performance as guest host for Kirk’s podcast.
He said Trump was 鈥渇anning the flames鈥 by attacking people on the left. 鈥淲hich is it, are they a bunch of sissy pickleball players because they’re too scared to be hit by tennis balls, or a well-organized deadly team of commandos, because they can’t be both of those things.鈥
The move comes as the president, his administration and political party have stepped up their effort to Vance earlier this week urged Americans to turn in fellow citizens who mocked the assassination. It is also the latest effort by the administration to use its power to lean on the media. Carr has launched investigations of outlets that have angered Trump and the president has sued numerous media organizations for negative coverage.
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Associated Press journalists Liam McEwan and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed reporting.
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