Late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been pulled from the air “indefinitely” after host Jimmy Kimmel made comments about the murder of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.
During a monologue earlier this week, Kimmel suggested that the alleged killer of Kirk, Tyler Robinson, 22, may have been a pro-Trump Republican.
Robinson has been charged with the aggravated murder of Kirk during a speaking event on a Utah university campus.
“In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving,” Kimmel said, accusing “the MAGA gang” of attempting to “score political points” by characterising Robinson as “anything other than them.”
His remarks sparked criticism from the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency that regulates broadcasts.
FCC chair Brendan Carr told a right-wing podcast that Kimmel’s comments were “the sickest conduct possible.” He added that the FCC could move to revoke ABC’s affiliate licenses to force the broadcaster to punish Kimmel.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he 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 later called Kimmel “talentless” and said his comments displayed “some sort of desperate irrelevance.”
Before the monologue, Kimmel had posted a statement on social media condemning the shooting.
“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he wrote.
He added that he and his family “send love” to the Kirk family and “all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is owned by ABC.
Nexstar Media Group, an ABC affiliate, announced it would pre-empt the show on its stations indefinitely, replacing it with other programming.
Nexstar broadcasting president Andrew Alford called Kimmel’s comments “offensive and insensitive”.
“We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” he said.
“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 pre-empt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
Minutes later, ABC confirmed Kimmel would be taken off air “indefinitely.”
This is not Kimmel’s first controversy in recent months.
Earlier in 2025, President Donald Trump predicted Kimmel would be next to lose his late-night spot following Paramount’s decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Trump wrote on Truth Social in July, “The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is next to go in the untalented late night sweepstakes.”
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