ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely after comments he made about Kirk, who was killed on September 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Loading
Backlash to Kimmel’s comments about Kirk was swift. Nexstar and Sinclair, two of ABC’s largest affiliate owners, said they would be pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their stations. Others, including several fellow comedians, came to his defence.
There was no immediate comment from Nexstar and Sinclair in response to messages from The Associated Press.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA, the organisation founded by Kirk and now headed by his wife, posted on X about Kimmel’s reinstatement: “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make. Nexstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.”
Kimmel has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC since 2003 and has been a fixture in television and comedy for even longer. He is also well known as a presenter, having hosted the Academy Awards four times.
US President Donald Trump, one of Kimmel’s frequent targets, posted on social media that Kimmel’s suspension was “great news for America”. He also called for other late night hosts to be fired.
Kimmel was asked in an interview with Variety this past northern summer if he was worried that the administration would come after comedians. He expressed concern that a crackdown could be on the way.
“Well, you’d have to be naive not to worry a little bit,” he said. “But that can’t change what you’re doing.”
Kimmel’s suspension arrived in a time when Trump and his administration have pursued threats, lawsuits and federal government pressure to try to exert more control over the media industry. Trump has reached settlements with ABC and CBS over their coverage.
Loading
Trump has also filed defamation lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Republicans in Congress stripped federal funding from NPR and PBS.
Brendan Carr, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a warning prior to Kimmel’s suspension that criticised Kimmel’s remarks about the Kirk assassination.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
The suspension also happened at a time when the late night landscape is shifting. CBS recently announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show.
Loading
Kimmel’s contract with The Walt Disney-owned network had been set to expire in May 2026.
Word of the reinstatement came as hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars – including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep – urged Americans “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights” after Kimmel’s suspension.
More than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names to an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union that argues it is “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation”.
The ABC’s The View also weighed in on the controversy after not raising the topic for two episodes after Kimmel was suspended. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg opened the show saying: “No one silences us” and she and her fellow hosts condemned Disney’s decision.
AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
