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New York (WNN)- ABC announced Wednesday, September 17th, 2025, it will suspend Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely in response to comments the late-night host made about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
This move came after Kimmel accused members of the MAGA movement of trying to distance themselves from the suspect in Kirk’s killing while attempting to use the tragedy for political gain on his show. During his show on Monday night, Kimmel said:
“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 and with everything they can to score political points from it.”
He also mocked a response from U.S President Donald Trump, who, when asked two days after Kirk’s shooting how he was “holding up,” answered “very good” before changing the topic to talk about White House construction plans.
"He's at the fourth stage of grief, construction," Kimmel said through audience laughs. "This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish."
ABC confirmed to CBS News that the show has been “pre-empted indefinitely”. Right now, there is no word on if or when the show could return. Kimmel's show has been a staple of the network since it began airing in 2003.
ABC's announcement came after media company Nexstar announced in a news release that it would pre-empt Kimmel's show indefinitely on all its stations over his remarks.
Nexstar's official logo
Nexstar.tv
"Mr. Kimmel's comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and 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, in a statement. "Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."
Nexstar owns and operates more than 200 stations nationwide, including more than two dozen ABC affiliates.
Sinclair Broadcast Group also dropped the show from its stations, opting to air a special in remembrance of Kirk in its place.
"Due to problematic comments regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk in programming provided to broadcast stations by ABC, Sinclair and its partners, which operate ABC stations in 30 markets in the U.S., will stop airing Jimmy Kimmel's show until further notice," the company said.
In August, Nexstar announced it wanted to buy Tegna in a $6.2 billion deal. Also in August, Sinclair said it was reviewing its business and considering "acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and business combinations." Both the Nexstar and Sinclair broadcast merger deals would require FCC approval.
In a podcast interview on Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s comments "some of the sickest conduct possible," and said there was a "path forward for suspension over this."
Official portrait of Brendan Carr
Wikipedia
"The FCC is going to have remedies we could look at," he said.
In a social media post before ABC's confirmation that it was pre-empting the show, Carr praised Nexstar for its decision.
"I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing," Carr wrote. "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."
Trump praised ABC’s decision on his Truth Social platform. He wrote "ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED," although ABC did not say that Kimmel's show has been canceled and has not indicated what its plans are for the show moving forward.
"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," Trump said. Trump went on to attack Stephen Colbert, host of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which is in its final season on CBS, as well as Jimmy Fallon, host of "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," and Seth Meyers, host of "Late Night with Seth Meyers," both on NBC.
U.S. Donald Trump's post on Truth Social
Truth Social
"Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible," Trump wrote. "That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it, NBC!!!"
The Writers Guild of America, which represents the writers on Kimmel's show, said in a statement Wednesday night, "As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn't have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to — painful as it may be at times — is the freeing agreement to disagree."
The Writers Guild of America's response to Jimmy Kimmel Live being pulled off the air.
WGA Website
"Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth," the WGA added. "As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world."
In light of the growing concerns about political violence following Kirk's death, Many people have faced losing their jobs due to their controversial comments.
One incident involved a Gaston County Schools Employee. Gaston County Schools have since released a statement via Facebook :
“The Board of Education is aware of an employee posting an insensitive and inappropriate comment on social media regarding the tragedy that occurred yesterday. Thank you to everyone who has brought their concerns to our attention.”
“We want to assure our families, staff, and the community that we are taking this matter seriously. The school system has clear policies regarding employee use of social media, professional conduct, and the expectation that personal views expressed by employees are not representative of the school system.”
“At this time, the school system is reviewing the incident, and our Human Resources Department is working to conduct an investigation in accordance with our policies/procedures related to the handling of personnel matters. Because this is a personnel issue, we cannot share information with the public about the investigation nor can we comment on specific personnel disciplinary action because of the school system’s obligation to employee privacy in compliance with state and federal laws.”
“We train our employees each year about the importance of professional conduct, including the responsible use of social media. As a result of this incident, we plan to offer more training for employees about the use of social media by school system employees. It is important for school system employees to be reminded that they must uphold a high professional standard at all times because of their role in educating our children.”
“Our priority continues to be providing a safe, welcoming, and productive learning environment for all students. We are committed to upholding the public’s trust and ensuring that the focus of our schools is high-quality teaching and learning.”
“We kindly ask for patience, understanding, and calmness from the public as the school system addresses this matter. Again, thank you for your concern.”
Another person who was employed with the Carolina Panthers lost their job as a result of their comments. According to multiple screenshots circulating on social media, the former employee appeared to have posted about Kirk’s murder just hours after it happened on Wednesday.
In one of those posts, the former employee allegedly wrote: “Why are y’all sad? Your man said it was worth it ...” and included a photo of Kirk. In another post, they allegedly referenced the Wu-Tang Clan song “Protect Ya Neck.”
The Panthers posted on social media about the situation on Thursday, saying they “addressed” the situation with the person involved.
“The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers. We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”
It is unclear what will happen next. In a press release, Sinclair has laid out a list of demands Kimmel has to meet before they will lift the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its ABC stations. The first is for there to be "formal discussions" held with ABC regarding the network's commitment to professionalism and accountability."
They also asked for Kimmel to "issue a direct apology to the Kirk family" and for him to make a "meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA," Kirk's nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses.
They noted that "regardless of ABC's plans for the future of the program," it won't return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to air until it is "confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform."
A source close to Kimmel told multiple media outlets that Kimmel is “unwilling to apologize for his remarks.”
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