Why was Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show suspended? Here’s what we know

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show off the air, indefinitely — an unprecedented move that followed backlash from affiliated broadcasters and the head of the Federal Communications Commission over the comic’s remarks after last week’s killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel’s comments did not extensively focus on Kirk, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump. He instead took aim at Trump and his “MAGA Gang” supporters for their response to the assassination, which he said included “finger-pointing” and attempts to characterize the alleged shooter as “anything other than one of them.”

Ahead of ABC’s suspension, broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair had said they would be pulling Kimmel’s show from their affiliated stations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr had also warned that the network and its local affiliates could face repercussions if Kimmel was not punished.

Kimmel, whose contract with The Walt Disney Co.-owned network expires in May 2026, did not immediately comment on the suspension.

Here’s what we know:

Why was Kimmel’s show suspended?

ABC, which has aired “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since 2003, did not immediately explain why it suspended the show on Wednesday. But its announcement came after both Nexstar and Sinclair said they would stop airing Kimmel’s show on their ABC-affiliated stations.

In a statement shared on social media, Sinclair cited “problematic comments regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk” in its decision. Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, called Kimmel’s comments “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”

Carr, whom Trump appointed last November, had called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and said the comedian appeared to intentionally try to mislead the public about the alleged shooter’s political leanings. He later applauded the decisions to stop airing Kimmel’s show.

What did Kimmel say after Kirk’s death?

Kimmel called Kirk’s death a “senseless murder” a day after the fatal Utah shooting, and he condemned those who appeared to celebrate it — as well as Trump for trying to cast blame on the “radical left.”

He also talked about the aftermath during his show both Monday and Tuesday, targeting the response from both Trump himself and the president’s supporters, whom he accused of “working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”

The comic focused particularly on the alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson.

“The 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,” Kimmel said in his Monday monologue. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

Kimmel said that Trump’s response “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?” He also said that FBI chief Kash Patel has handled the investigation into the killing “like a kid who didn’t read the book, BSing his way through an oral report.”

On Tuesday night, Kimmel mocked Vice President JD Vance’s performance as guest host for Kirk’s podcast.

How has Trump responded?

Kimmel’s suspension comes alongside wider efforts by Trump and other conservatives to police speech following Kirk’s killing. It also marks the Trump administration’s latest effort to influence the U.S. media landscape.

In a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday night, Trump applauded ABC for “finally having the courage to do what had to be done” and claimed that Kimmel “has ZERO talent” — focusing on what he said were bad ratings, while also lambasting other names in late-night TV.

At a news conference Thursday during his state visit to Britain, the president also said that ABC should have fired the comedian long ago. “You can call that free speech or not, he was fired for lack of talent,” he said.

How have others responded?

Kimmel’s suspension has drawn both condemnation and praise.

Former President Barack Obama wrote in a social media post on Thursday that the current administration had reached a “new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like” — and that media companies needed to stand up to the “government coercion” rather than capitulate to it.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Biden administration appointee, wrote in a social media post that, “We cannot allow an inexcusable act of political violence to be twisted into justification for government censorship and control.”

Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News and NBC personality, maintained that Kimmel’s suggestion that Kirk’s killer may have been a Trump supporter was a “vile, disgusting lie.”

Others expressed shock and concern over what the move meant for free speech, including actor Jean Smart. “What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech. People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda,” Smart wrote on social media, noting that she was still “sickened” by Kirk’s death.

Congressional Democrats unveiled a bill Thursday aimed at bolstering free speech protections against government officials. While it’s unlikely to gain traction in a Republican-controlled Congress, the move echoed sharp criticism over Kimmel’s suspension. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also called for Carr’s firing.

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AP Media Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.