Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been suspended for the foreseeable future by ABC, according to reports. According to Deadline, a spokesperson for ABC confirmed the late-night show would be “preempted indefinitely.”
The move came after media company Nexstar pulled Kimmel’s show from the 200 stations it owns across the U.S, saying in a statement Wednesday (Sept. 17) that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk.”
Kirk, a conservative media figure, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, sparking heated political debates.
While the views and motive of the suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, are murky, both liberals and conservative pundits have insisted the killing was due to political differences from Kirk.
“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,” Kimmel said in his monologue on Monday’s show.
ABC, which is owned by Disney, faced threats from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr after Kimmel's comments. After ABC pulled Kimmel's show, Carr thanked Nexstar on social media.
“Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest," Carr said. "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.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced the move on X, accusing conservatives of censorship and stifling free speech.
The backlash to Kimmel comes amid a string of firings of people who have been accused of making light of Kirk’s death. Employees at companies including NASDAQ, Office Depot, the Carolina Panthers, and MSNBC have been let go for comments regarding the fatal shooting.
Political analyst Matthew Dowd was dropped from MSNBC after he said Kirk was a “divisive” figure who promoted “hate speech” on air.
“Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” Dowd said. “I think that is the environment we are in. You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in."