- ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show indefinitely after comments on Charlie Kirk's death.
- Kimmel's comments about Kirk drew backlash, including condemnation from FCC chair Brendan Carr.
- An ABC spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that the show would be pre-empted "indefinitely."
ABC said it pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air "indefinitely" over his comments about Charlie Kirk's killing, in a move that raised questions about how far is too far for a comedian in 2025.
The suspension is the latest example of a company taking action against an employee following comments that were critical of the circumstances around the conservative activist's killing. Hours earlier, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission had slammed Kimmel's remarks and threatened ABC.
On Monday's show, Kimmel made pointed remarks about President Donald Trump and Kirk's killing.
"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," Kimmel said.
According to charging documents cited by CNN, the alleged killer's mother said he "had started to lean more to the left — becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented."
"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody he called a friend," Kimmel said of Trump's reaction to Kirk's death on the Monday show. "This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish."
Kimmel hosts "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," which premiered in 2003. Until this suspension, he was the longest-serving late-night host currently on the air. He's hosted the Primetime Emmy and Academy Awards multiple times.
Disney-owned ABC's decision came after pressure from both the FCC and a prominent company that owns ABC affiliate stations, Nexstar. Affiliate stations carry ABC programming under contract but aren't owned by the network itself.
FCC chair Brendan Carr publicly condemned Kimmel's comments, calling them "the sickest conduct possible." In an interview with YouTuber Benny Johnson, Carr also warned that affiliate licenses could come under review, and that broadcasters are required to operate "in the public interest."
Nexstar subsequently issued a statement saying it would pull Kimmel from the ABC stations it owned, citing his Kirk comments.
"I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing," Carr said in a statement to Business Insider after the news that ABC had pulled the show. "Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values. I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar's lead."
Some context: Nexstar is seeking FCC approval for its $6.2 billion mega deal to acquire TEGNA. The deal would include 13 ABC stations and make Nexstar by far the country's biggest local TV station owner. The FCC would have to raise the 40% ownership cap to let the deal advance.
The pressure campaign that preceded Kimmel's suspension highlights the government's considerable power to regulate broadcast networks like ABC, as opposed to cable TV and streaming platforms.
Trump cheered the news of the suspension on Truth Social:
"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. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even 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!!! President DJT."The suspension is the latest twist in the culture wars following Kirk's death. Voices on the right have decried certain reactions to Kirk's killing as heartless and horrifying, and others have said such contentions themselves are a form of speech suppression. Meanwhile, defenders of such comments say people on the right who once criticized cancel culture are practicing it.
Some in Hollywood spoke out in support of Kimmel on social media.
"This isn't right," Ben Stiller wrote.
"This is the actual cancel culture everyone claims to hate so much," Alex Edelman of "The Paper" wrote.
Several Democratic lawmakers did the same.
"Everybody across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what's happening to Jimmy Kimmel," Senator Chuck Schumer wrote. Senators Ed Markey and Adam Schiff similarly supported the comedian and expressed outrage at the suspension.
Kimmel's suspension comes a few months after the controversy around the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's late-night show in July. At the time, CBS executives said the move was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." Some lawmakers raised concerns that the cancellation could have had a political motivation, noting Colbert had just called out CBS's parent, Paramount, for settling Trump's lawsuit over "60 Minutes" for $16 million. Paramount won the FCC's approval to merge with Skydance later that month.
