Jimmy Kimmel taken off air over Charlie Kirk comments

ABC has pulled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off air indefinitely over comments he made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesperson for the Disney-owned network said in a statement. Kimmel did not comment to the BBC as he emerged shortly afterwards from the television studio in Los Angeles.

Earlier this week, Kimmel said during his show that the “Maga gang” was trying to score political points off Kirk’s killing.

A 22-year-old suspect appeared in court on Tuesday charged with aggravated murder over last week’s shooting of the 31-year-old conservative activist.

Kimmel said in his Monday night monologue: “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.”

The late-night host also criticised flags being flown at half mast in honour of Kirk, and mocked US President Donald Trump’s reaction to the shooting.

“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,” said Kimmel, who has often poked fun at Trump.

On the day Kirk was shot, Kimmel took to Instagram to condemn the attack and send “love” to the conservative activist’s family.

Authorities have not specified a motive in Kirk’s fatal shooting on 10 September.

According to charging documents, the suspect’s mother “explained that over the last year or so, he had become political and started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented”.

The suspect, Tyler Robinson, was not registered to any political party and did not vote in the 2022 or 2024 elections, according to authorities.

Shortly after ABC announced Kimmel had been suspended, Trump said it was “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,” the president wrote in a social media post.

Trump also criticised two other late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers, whom he described as “two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible”.

The president has previously traded barbs with Kimmel. Last year, the ABC star – who has hosted four Academy Awards ceremonies – read aloud Trump’s scathing review of his performance while on stage in the middle of presenting the Oscars.

Kimmel’s monologue on Monday provoked criticism, including from the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr.

The head of the US communications regulator said on Wednesday that the ABC host had shown “the sickest conduct possible” and he urged Disney to take action.

“[Broadcasters] have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” the Trump appointee told the Benny Show, a conservative podcast.

He noted that an apology from Kimmel would be a “very reasonable, minimal step”.

But Anna Gomez, the only Democratic member of the FCC, criticised Carr’s remarks.

She posted on X that “an inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control”.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA), Hollywood’s labour union, condemned the decision to take Kimmel off air as a violation of constitutional free speech rights.

“Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth,” it said in a statement.

Sag-Aftra, another union, said the move was “the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms”.

The ABC announcement came just after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! “for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight’s show”.

Nexstar said the comedian’s remarks about Kirk were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse”.

“[We] do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.

The FCC commissioner thanked Nexstar “for doing the right thing” and said he hoped other broadcasters would follow its lead. Nexstar is currently seeking FCC approval for its planned $6.2bn merger with Tegna.

Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the US, followed suit. It said it would air a special remembrance programme dedicated to Kirk this Friday during the original time slot for Kimmel’s show.

A person familiar with Kimmel’s situation told CNBC that the host had not been fired, adding that bosses at the network intended to speak to the comedian about what he should say when he goes back on air.

Kimmel is the latest late-night host to see his programme run into issues as more viewers turn to streaming over traditional network viewing.

In July, rival network CBS announced it would end The Late Show With Stephen Colbert next year after 11 seasons.

Network executives said the move was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount”.

However, Colbert tore into the network and its parent company over the decision.

He accused CBS of leaking financial figures to the press, and alluded to a $16m (£13.5m) settlement with Trump after he sued the network over an interview its 60 Minutes programme did last year with former Vice-President Kamala Harris.

That payout came several months after the Disney-owned ABC agreed to pay $15m (£12m) to Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit after its star anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely and repeatedly said during an interview that the president had been found “liable for rape”.

A jury in a civil case had determined Trump was liable for “sexual abuse”, which has a specific definition under New York law.

After he was taken off air on Wednesday, Kimmel left the studio on Hollywood Boulevard wearing a flannel shirt and cap and rode away in a car without comment.

Fans of the show, who had been queuing up to join the live audience, expressed disappointment about the cancellation.

Janna Blackwell, who was on holiday from Virginia, told the BBC: “You know, this is getting ridiculous and stupid.

“Freedom of speech. He shared his opinion and is being cancelled. To me that is bizarre.”

A small protest was also held outside the studio with a sign saying “Trump must go now”.

With additional reporting from Regan Morris in Los Angeles.