ABC Suspends Jimmy Kimmel Show after Remarks about Charlie Kirk’s Death

Television

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By Milton Quintanilla, Crosswalk.com

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has been pulled off the air "indefinitely" after host Jimmy Kimmel claimed that Tyler Robinsion, the 22-year-old gunman who fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah last week was affiliated with MAGA movement.

"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 on his opening monologue Wednesday night.

"In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving," he added.

Following Kimmel's comments, the show was pulled from ABC after a spokesperson said, "'Jimmy Kimmel Live' will be pre-empted indefinitely," CNBC reported.

Nexstar Media Group, which operates 23 ABC affiliates, made a statement announcing the decision prior to ABC.

"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. "Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."

Speaking to right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, Brendan Carr, whom President Trump had nominated as FCC chair, the Kimmel's comments were "truly sick."

"This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr told Johnson. "These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."

"They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest," Carr said.

Trump commended the move, suggesting that NBC should follow ABC and fire its late night hosts next for, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," and "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

"Great News for America: The ratings-challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

"Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even [Stephen] Colbert, if that's possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!" Trump wrote.

"Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to @ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done..." - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/Vhj6DQSssu
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 18, 2025

In addition to Kimmel, other media figures drew backlash for making controversial remarks about Kirk's death.

MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd last week after stating on-air that "hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions."

Meanwhile, The Washington Post fired opinion columnist Karen Attiah last week, saying there were "racial double standards" in social media reactions to Kirk's murder.

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.