Disney-owned ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live indefinitely following backlash over the late-night host’s comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
An ABC spokesperson confirmed Wednesday evening that the show will be “pre-empted indefinitely” but declined to offer additional details.
The decision comes after Nexstar, a major operator of ABC affiliates, said it would stop broadcasting Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future,” citing objections to his remarks.
During Monday’s monologue, Kimmel suggested that Tyler Robinson — the suspect charged with Kirk’s killing — might have been a pro-Trump Republican. “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize 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, before adding that there was grief “in between the finger-pointing.”
The comments triggered outrage from conservative circles and drew a sharp response from FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who called Kimmel’s remarks “the sickest conduct possible.” Speaking on right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson’s show Wednesday, Carr threatened to take action against Disney and ABC, even suggesting that the FCC could review the licenses of ABC affiliates if the network did not address Kimmel’s conduct.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr also labeled Kimmel “talentless” and accused him of “desperate irrelevance.”
Disney and Kimmel’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This marks the latest escalation between the FCC chair and ABC. In July, Carr said that The View was “in the crosshairs” of the Trump administration following co-host Joy Behar’s criticism of the president.
Kimmel has long been a target of former president Donald Trump, who celebrated CBS’s recent cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s late-night show and predicted that “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel.”