(NEXSTAR) — ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely following comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s killing.
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The network’s decision came after Nexstar Media announced its ABC affiliates would pre-empt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely over his comments.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.
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President Trump responded to the news in a post on Truth Social, saying, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.” Trump also urged NBC to fire late night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, calling them “two total losers.”
Kimmel has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, whom he has lampooned on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” relentlessly in recent years.
During his monologue on Monday, Kimmel said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”
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“In between the fingerpointing, there was, uh, grieving — on Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level you can see how hard the president is taking this,” Kimmel said, before cutting to a clip where Trump responded to reporters asking about how he was doing by pointing to construction at the White House.
Kimmel accused Trump of mourning the assassinated conservative influencer “the way a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish,” according to The Hill.
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 “fanning the flames” by attacking people on the left. “Which 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.”
Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, who had called Kimmel’s monologue material “some of the sickest conduct possible,” The Hill reports, applauded the news.
“I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing,” Carr said in a statement Wednesday. “While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.”
ABC’s decision to take the show off air comes at a fraught political and cultural moment in America. In the hours after Kirk was killed, people ranging from an NFL team employee to firefighters, public officials and a cable news commentator were suspended or fired over comments related to his death.
Kirk, beloved by many conservatives and widely regarded as having played a critical role in helping mobilize voters for President Trump, also drew fierce criticism from Americans who disagreed with his political views.
A message sent to a spokesperson for Kimmel was not immediately returned.
Kimmel, who has been hosting the show since 2003, is in the final year of a contract that ends May 2026.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
