Kimmel's future hangs in balance after ABC suspends his late-night show over Charlie Kirk comments

NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel's television future hung in the balance Thursday after ABC suspended his late-night show following the host's comments about Charlie Kirk's killing, which prompted dozens of stations to say they wouldn't air the show, a move that was cheered on by a top federal regulator.

The veteran late-night comic made several remarks on Monday and Tuesday about the reaction to the conservative activist's assassination, including saying that "many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk."

ABC, which has aired "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" since 2003, moved swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday. Kimmel's comments about Kirk's death were "offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse," said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division. Nexstar operates 28 ABC affiliates.

Another company that owns 38 local television stations, Sinclair, called on Kimmel to apologise to Kirk's family and make a "meaningful personal donation" to the activist's political organisation, Turning Point USA. Sinclair says its ABC stations will air a tribute to Kirk on Friday in Kimmel's time slot.

In an appearance on CNBC Thursday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr cheered the moves by the two affiliate groups to push back against the network. While the Federal Communications Commission does not have power over the television networks, it does have the authority to suspend the licences of their individual stations in local markets.

"We're reinvigorating the FCC's enforcement of the public interest," Carr said, "and I think that's a good thing."

There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. ABC's statement did not cite a reason for why his show was pre-empted.

President Donald Trump celebrated ABC's move on the social media site Truth Social. "Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," he wrote.

Carr on Wednesday called Kimmel's comments "truly sick" and said his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation. He said the comic appeared to be making an intentional effort to mislead the public that Kirk's assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter.

During his Monday evening monologue, Kimmel suggested that the suspect in Kirk's killing, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican.

"The MAGA Gang (is) 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 said. "In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving."

Authorities say the 22-year-old grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but was enmeshed in "leftist ideology." His parents told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year. His voter status is inactive, meaning he did not vote in two regular general elections. He told his transgender partner that he targeted Kirk because he "had enough of his hatred."

Both Disney and Nexstar have FCC business ahead of them. Disney is seeking regulatory approval for ESPN's acquisition of the NFL Network, and Nexstar needs the Trump administration's blessing to complete its $6.2 billion purchase of broadcast rival Tegna.

For both companies, reinstating Kimmel after a suspension would risk the ire of Trump, who has already claimed that the show has been cancelled.

Kimmel's suspension comes two months after CBS announced that it was cancelling Stephen Colbert's show next May for financial reasons. But some critics have wondered if his stance on Trump played a role.

Both Colbert and Kimmel have made the president the frequent target of jokes. Soon after the Colbert cancellation, the FCC approved CBS parent company Paramount's long-pending deal with Skydance.

Trump similarly celebrated Colbert's impending exit.

"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired," Trump said in July. "His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next."

Within the past year, both Disney and CBS parent Paramount chose to settle lawsuits brought by Trump against their news divisions rather than fight it out in court.

In a post on X, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticised the administration for "using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression."

"Another media outlet withered under government pressure, ensuring that the administration will continue to extort and exact retribution on broadcasters and publishers who criticise it," said Ari Cohn, lead counsel for technology policy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. "We cannot be a country where late-night talk show hosts serve at the pleasure of the president."

Kimmel departed the Hollywood theatre where his show is taped about three hours after ABC's decision. He kept his head down as he entered a waiting vehicle.

An audience was lined up outside the theatre when they were told Wednesday's show was cancelled.

"Interestingly enough, they waited to pull the plug on this right as the studio audience was about to walk in," Tommy Williams, a would-be audience member from Jacksonville, Florida, told The Associated Press outside the theatre. "They didn't tell us what had happened. They just said that the show was cancelled."

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