Jimmy Kimmel has been suspended from his TV show after making comments about Charlie Kirk.
ABC announced the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday night.
The decision came just hours after the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission threatened broadcasters’ licenses if action wasn’t taken against the late-night host.
The controversy stems from the recent killing of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative influencer and founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot dead while on a speaking tour in Utah.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of firearm, and witness tampering in connection with Kirk’s death, and could face the death penalty.
Kirk’s assassination sent ripples through the political landscape, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance citing ‘left-wing extremism’ as a factor in the killing.
The incident has become a flashpoint in America’s ongoing cultural and political divisions, with flags flying at half-mast in Kirk’s honor and intense scrutiny of how different political figures have responded to his death.
Following Kimmel’s comments, on Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared on conservative podcaster Benny Johnson’s podcast, where he directly threatened broadcasters who continued to air Kimmel’s show, per the Guardian.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr warned, suggesting that local broadcasters were ‘running the possibility of fines or license revocation from the FCC’ if they continued to broadcast content he deemed inappropriate.
Within hours of Carr’s comments, major broadcasting groups began pulling Kimmel’s show.
Nexstar Media, one of the largest TV station owners in the US, announced it would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! ‘for the foreseeable future,’ per the BBC.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns more ABC stations than any other conglomerate, followed suit and announced it would run a tribute to Kirk during Kimmel’s Friday time slot.
ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel indefinitely came just minutes after the broadcasting groups made their announcements.
President Trump, currently on a state visit to the U.K., celebrated the news on social media, writing: “The ratings-challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
Trump also appeared to threaten other late-night hosts, adding: “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” referring to Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
The suspension has triggered widespread outrage from Democratic politicians, Hollywood figures, and free speech organizations.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the firing of commentators and the canceling of shows ‘coordinated’ and ‘dangerous,’ stating that the Republican Party: “Does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time,” Sky reports.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged people ‘across the political spectrum’ to speak out against what was happening to Kimmel, while his colleague Chris Murphy warned it was likely the start of a campaign to ‘use the murder of Charlie Kirk as a pretext to use the power of the White House to wipe out Trump’s critics and his political opponents.’
Hollywood figures also expressed alarm. Actor Ben Stiller said the decision ‘isn’t right,’ while Hacks star Jean Smart wrote that she was ‘horrified’ by the decision, emphasizing that ‘what Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech.’
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said the timing of ABC’s decision, immediately after Carr’s comments, ‘tells the whole story,’ adding: “Another media outlet withered under government pressure. We cannot be a country where late-night talk show hosts serve at the pleasure of the president.”
Now, to the heart of the controversy – what exactly did Jimmy Kimmel say that led to his indefinite suspension?
During his Monday night show, less than a week after Kirk’s killing, Kimmel made the comments that would ultimately cost him his platform. In his opening monologue, he said:
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise 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 was referring to the political response to Kirk’s death and what he perceived as attempts by Trump supporters to distance themselves from the alleged killer while simultaneously using the tragedy for political advantage.
He also mocked President Trump’s reaction to the shooting, saying: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
The following night, Kimmel doubled down on his criticism during his Tuesday show’s opening monologue, stating: “Many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
He then turned his attention to Vice President JD Vance, who had blamed the left for Kirk’s death without evidence while hosting an episode of Kirk’s podcast from the White House. Vance had claimed that ‘most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left.’
Kimmel responded: “And by ‘statistical fact’, he means ‘complete bulls***’,” citing a study that found far-right groups were the greatest source of domestic terrorism and extremist violence in the US.
Perhaps most provocatively, Kimmel then posed a direct challenge to Vance: “Here’s a question JD Vance might be able to answer: who wanted to hang the guy who was vice president before you? Was that the liberal left? Or the toothless army who stormed the Capitol on January 6?”
This reference to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, where some rioters had chanted ‘Hang Mike Pence’ for his role in certifying the 2020 election results, was particularly inflammatory in the current political climate.
It’s important to note that immediately after Kirk’s death, Kimmel had posted on Instagram condemning the attack and sending ‘love’ to Kirk’s family, writing: “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
However, his subsequent on-air comments were seen by critics as crossing a line during what they characterized as a sensitive time for national discourse.
Kimmel’s suspension represents what many observers are calling an unprecedented attack on free speech by government officials.
The direct involvement of the FCC chairman in pressuring broadcasters to remove content critical of the administration has drawn comparisons to authoritarianism and McCarthyism.
The incident also highlights the vulnerability of traditional broadcast media to government pressure, particularly when major station ownership groups are seeking regulatory approval for mergers and acquisitions.
Nexstar, which led the charge in pulling Kimmel’s show, is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
Kimmel’s suspension comes just months after CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, another program that had been consistently critical of Trump, though CBS insisted that the decision was purely financial.
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The post What Jimmy Kimmel Said About Charlie Kirk’s Killing To Get Him Taken Off Air appeared first on It’s Gone Viral.
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