'Jimmy Kimmel Live' Show Taken Off Air 'Indefinitely' Over Charlie Kirk Remarks
ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show indefinitely following comments he made about Charlie Kirk's killing.
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The unprecedented suspension of one of America's most prominent late-night shows comes amid President Donald Trump's expanding legal challenges against media organizations he accuses of demonstrating bias.
Trump quickly celebrated the decision as "Great News for America" on his Truth Social platform.
Kirk, a strong Trump ally, was fatally shot last week while speaking at a Utah university campus. Authorities have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with murder in connection with the shooting.
During Monday's monologue, Kimmel addressed the incident, saying: "We had 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 with everything they can to score political points from it."
Following these comments, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr publicly threatened the broadcast licenses of ABC affiliates airing Kimmel's show—a move Democratic lawmakers condemned as government overreach against constitutionally protected speech.
Nexstar, one of the nation's largest owners of ABC affiliate stations, announced it would not broadcast "Jimmy Kimmel Live" for "the foreseeable future," stating that Kimmel's remarks were "offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse."
"Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time," said Nexstar broadcasting president Andrew Alford.
The White House had earlier indicated it would pursue an alleged left-wing "domestic terror movement" following Kirk's killing, raising concerns that such efforts could potentially silence political dissent.
Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan responded to ABC's decision by posting on X: "President Trump and FCC Chair Carr made it clear: fall in line or be silenced."
This development follows CBS's July cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," shortly after the comedian criticized parent company Paramount's $16 million settlement with Trump as "a big fat bribe." With these suspensions, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers of NBC remain the only major network late-night hosts still on air.
Since returning to the White House, President Trump has intensified criticism of journalists questioning his administration, restricting access and filing major lawsuits—including a $15 billion defamation claim against the New York Times.
Despite constitutional protections for media, Trump has secured multi-million-dollar settlements from Disney-owned ABC and Paramount-owned CBS, payments reportedly designated for his future presidential library. These settlements have been viewed as efforts by parent companies to maintain favorable relations with the administration.