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Celebrities and politicians are speaking out against Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show being pulled off the air indefinitely over the host's recent comments about conservative figure Charlie Kirk and pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
On Wednesday (September 17), ABC announced that it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its schedule after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened federal action against affiliates airing the show, per NPR.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely," an ABC spokesperson said in a statement.
Carr made the threat during an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson following Kimmel's comments about Kirk's killing.
“Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead," Carr said.
Kimmel made the controversial comments during Monday’s (September 15) monologue, during which he joked about President Donald Trump’s response to Kirk’s shooting and criticized right-wing attempts to politicize the event.
“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.
Though Kimmel had previously called Kirk’s killing “senseless” and sent condolences to his family on Instagram, the remark sparked outrage among conservatives, including Trump. Nexstar, which owns 32 ABC stations and is awaiting FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger, was the first to suspend Kimmel’s show. Sinclair Broadcast Group also dropped the program and issued a statement demanding that Kimmel apologize to Kirk's family.
“Sinclair calls upon Mr. Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family. Furthermore, we ask Mr. Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” the company said.
Trump praised ABC’s move to remove Kimmel's show from its schedule in a post on his Truth Social Platform.
“Congratulations to ABC for its courage. That leaves Jimmy and Seth,” he said, referring to Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and Late Night host Seth Meyers, urging NBC to cancel their shows next.
On Friday (September 19), Sinclair plans to air a televised tribute to Kirk in place of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Many celebrities and politicians condemned the decision to remove Kimmel's show from the air. See their reactions below.
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