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Jimmy Kimmel taken off air over Charlie Kirk comments

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c203n52x1y9o

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 to the BBC.

On Monday night's monologue, Kimmel said the "MAGA gang" was trying to score political points off Kirk's murder.

On Tuesday, a 22-year-old suspect appeared in court charged with aggravated murder over last Wednesday's shooting of the 31-year-old conservative influencer. Representatives for Kimmel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.


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, who has frequently been in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump, also criticised flags being flown at half staff in honour of Kirk, and mocked the president's reaction to the shooting.

He spliced a clip of the president speaking with reporters about his reaction to Kirk's death, and redirecting to talk about a ballroom being built at the White House.

"He's at the fourth stage of grief," Kimmel said. "Construction. It's demolition, construction.

"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a gold fish."

Also on Wednesday, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, said on a podcast that Kimmel's remarks showed "the sickest conduct possible" as 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," said Carr, a Trump-appointee.

"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or, you know, there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead," Carr told the Benny Show.

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


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 on Wednesday evening that the comedian's remarks about Kirk "are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse".

"[W]e 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.

"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."

Buh-bye Jimmy. Probably did it on purpose, he was dying a slow death as a comedian. Now he can rise, with tears streaming down his face, and claim martyrdom.

Maybe we can trend toward actual comedy on late night again soon!

Yes, Kimmel's show was suspended for political speech. Not about Charlie Kirk. He said nothing disparaging about Charlie Kirk. He did not condone the murder or death of Charlie Kirk. What he said was about the Republican party and trump. That's why this happened. One of trump's yes men threatened ABC and it all went down.

I disagree with Kimmel's premise but anyone who believes this was about charlie Kirk is fooling themselves..........................

The ABC late-night host’s remarks constituted “the sickest conduct possible,” FCC chair Brendan Carr told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson on Wednesday. Carr suggested his FCC could move to revoke ABC affiliate licenses as a way to force Disney to punish Kimmel.

“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.”

And speaking on Fox Wednesday night, Carr suggested broadcasters would see more of this kind of pressure in the future.

“We at the FCC are going to force the public interest obligation. There are broadcasters out there that don’t like it, they can turn in their license in to the FCC,” Carr said. “But that’s our job. Again, we’re making some progress now.”

Notably, Nexstar is seeking Trump administration approval to acquire another big US station group, Tegna. The deal requires the FCC to loosen the government’s limits on broadcast station ownership.

Minutes after Nexstar criticized Kimmel publicly, ABC said the show was being yanked nationwide.

Later in the evening, another big station group, Sinclair, said it had also told ABC that it was preempting Kimmel’s show on its ABC-affiliated stations before the network announced its nationwide decision.

Sinclair, too, has business pending before the Trump administration, and it made a bid for Tegna a day before Nexstar stepped in with its bid. The company announced Wednesday night that it will air a one-hour special tribute to Kirk on Friday night in Kimmel’s usual time slot.

Following ABC’s action to indefinitely pull Kimmel’s show off the air, Sinclair issued a statement saying the late-night host’s suspension “is not enough” and called on the network, the FCC and Kimmel to go further.

“Sinclair will not lift the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability,” the company said in its statement. “Regardless of ABC’s plans for the future of the program, Sinclair intends not to return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to our air until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.”

Sinclair said it demanded Kimmel directly apologize to the Kirk family and make a “meaningful” donation to Kirk’s family and his organization, Turning Point USA.
The FCC’s role

The FCC regulates the public airwaves, including broadcast signals and content. Before Trump appointed Carr to lead the agency, the FCC, for the most part, had taken a hands-off approach to broadcasters’ political content in recent years.

But Carr has taken a broader view of the FCC’s remit to serve the public interest, and has served as a political attack dog for Trump, threatening his perceived enemies in the broadcast media.

“I can’t imagine another time when we’ve had local broadcasters tell a national programmer like Disney that your content no longer meets the needs and the values of our community,” Carr told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday. “So this is an important turning point.”

The Center for American Rights, which has previously lodged bias complaints against NBC, ABC and CBS, on Wednesday filed a complaint with the FCC over Kimmel’s comments, writing that “it is no defense to say that Kimmel was engaging in satire or late-night comedy rather than traditional news.”

“ABC’s affiliates need to step up and hold ABC accountable as a network for passing through material that fails to respect the public-interest standard to which they are held,” Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, wrote in the complaint. “Disney as ABC’s corporate owner needs to act directly to correct this problem.”

SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, said Wednesday night that it “condemns” the suspension of Kimmel’s show.

“Our society depends on freedom of expression. Suppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues of public concern run counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on,” the union said in its statement.

“The decision to suspend airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms.”

Kimmel has also been a frequent target of President Trump’s ire. Shortly after CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show — a move Carr publicly celebrated — Trump suggested that “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel.”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/media/jimmy-kimmel-charlie-kirk-trump-fcc-brendan-carr

The trump administration is using the power of government to control political speech. That's far more worrisome and disgusting than anything Kimmel said. Silencing the opposition is the same thing every dictator has done.

Oh, the irony.

That article hit it in the head. I thought he said something truly awful to warrent this but couldn't find anything. When I found out what was said, I couldn't believe that was it. Welcome to the new age of public censorship. Freedom of speech is now completely dead.

What broadcasters did the Biden administration threaten based on political speech?

I just thought of something. Didn't Trump specifically say Jimmy Kimmel is next after the Colbert announcement? This was clearly calculated and targeted if so.

Here he is making it obvious that he plans to go after Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers...............................

Trump Praises Kimmel Suspension, Targets Seth Meyers & Jimmy Fallon Next: ‘Do It NBC!’

“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,” wrote Trump, who is on a state visit to England at the moment.

“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/trump-targets-seth-meyers-jimmy-010246635.html

Trump administration tries to intervene

Rolling Stone reported in 2023 that members of the Trump administration once complained to Disney, the parent company of ABC which airs Jimmy Kimmel Live!, over the constant Trump barbs.
The publication claimed the White House pressured Disney to censor Kimmel's monologues which included any anti-Trump sentiment.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/d...ned/9e141f20-4079-4eeb-88e7-f4ff867cdcaa

I know Rolling Stone isn't as reliable as some rando on Twitter but still......

I kinda thought the same thing, but I'm also fine with sending a message that these shows should show a little class. It's not a stand-up routine where nothing is off-limits.

It also seems like the network(s) are taking a convenient exit on a show that's starting to slip... but (tbh) I never found Kimmel to be all that funny.

Do you really believe the message should be sent to not criticize trump or Republicans? And if you believe such a message as that should be sent, shouldn't that be a two way street?

Because if that's true trump himself should be silenced. And no, before some MAGA tries to put their spin on that, not in a violent way. He says and repeats nasty anti democrat rhetoric every day. Or doesn't the leader of the free world hold much more clout than a late night host?

It's crazy how the side that calls everything a conspiracy theory has no problem drumming up their own. One would think, by this standard, the people financing (and losing money on) all this trash should stand there and self-flagellant for fear they may hurt someone's feelings. Let's just ignore every shred of common sense in favor of, yet again, blaming Trump.


Ignore all of this, simple facts that drive the industry, over "Trump made them do it!!".


======================================

Perplexity AI:

How much money was Jimmy Kimmel Live! losing?

There is no explicit public data on exactly how much money "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was losing before its indefinite suspension in September 2025. However, indications are that the show's ratings had been under pressure and declining, contributing to financial challenges. Reports mention that the show was "ratings-challenged," with viewership lower than comparable late-night shows, making it harder for ABC and its affiliates to justify current advertising prices.

By July 2025, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was drawing around 1.1 million total viewers per episode, a rather modest number for a national late-night program on a major network. This decline aligns with broader late-night viewership trends and competition from streaming platforms, suggesting revenue from advertising was likely under stress. The combination of political backlash and these ratings concerns may have accelerated the decision to suspend the show. But no concrete figures on losses or specific financial impacts have been publicly disclosed as of now.


Is there evidence of them losing advertising accounts over deflated ratings?

There is evidence that "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was losing advertising revenue due to declining ratings even before the recent controversy. Available data shows ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" earned around $46 million in advertising revenue over the 12-month period ending mid-2025, which was down about 16% year-over-year. This decline in ad revenue aligns with falling viewership numbers and reflects wider challenges in late-night TV advertising.

While specific accounts withdrawn due to falling ratings are not detailed publicly, the overall 16% drop in ad revenue suggests some advertisers likely reduced or reallocated their spending. Industry context shows late-night shows have faced growing financial pressure as audience shifts move toward streaming and digital platforms. The show's advertising revenue decline was part of a broader market trend affecting the genre.

This revenue loss, combined with the political backlash and affiliate preemptions, likely contributed to the show's suspensions. However, no large-scale, well-documented advertiser boycott linked solely to ratings deflation has been publicly confirmed.


What did kimmel say about not caring if republicans watch his show?

Jimmy Kimmel made a notable comment about not caring if Republicans watched his show during his monologue after the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel specifically said he did not care if Republicans or the MAGA crowd were viewers of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" In his remarks, he criticized the GOP and MAGA supporters for attempting to exploit Kirk’s death for political gain and made clear he was not concerned with appealing to them. This stance was part of the larger political context in which Kimmel expressed disdain for what he saw as the divisive and insincere political reactions from Trump allies and conservatives.

He conveyed a blunt message that he was not trying to cater to Republican viewers and that his show and its perspectives would not change to suit them, even as backlash followed and major station groups pulled the show from the air.

======================================

So, I guess Trump made Kimmel's show suck? And then when Jimmy takes a crappy show to the next level of low-class and has the depraved indifference to LIE about things he already knows has been proven... and then stick a middle finger in the face of half of America? I guess all those paying the bills should just say "It's okay Jimmy, you seem angry." GTHOH

The news media has been regulated since 1934 by the FCC. Since then, they have always controlled what can and cannot be said over the air.

Ironically, the FCC was created under a Democrat president.

And nothing that the FCC was created to prevent was broken with the what was said. This is censorship using the FCC as the vehicle.

Yeah, sure. That's why at the exact time Kimmel made those comments about MAGA and the FCC threatened ABC, Kimmel was suspended.

You do realize that actual quotes and timelines aren't simply some made up conspiracy, right?

What FCC rule or regulation did Kimmel break?

Sounds about right. He's the most vile person on the interwebs. I can't believe he has an audience... oh, wait.

When did trump suspend his own truth social account? Oh, wait.

Jimmy Kimmel Off Air: Donald Trump Issues New Warning to TV Networks

President Donald Trump has suggested that networks regularly criticize him should potentially have their licenses taken away.

"They're 97% against, they give me wholly bad publicity... I mean, they're getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away" Trump told reporters on Thursday. "When you have a network and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump...They're not allowed to do that."

The president's warning to networks comes hours after ABC announced Wednesday evening that it has suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely following backlash over comments host Jimmy Kimmel made about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The host criticized MAGA figures for politicizing Kirk's death, prompting outrage from conservative activists.

https://www.newsweek.com/jimmy-kimmel-live-trump-abc-cancelled-fcc-free-speech-2131701

All the while Kimmel didn't say one negative word about Charlie Kirk.

Controlling the media is one of the first acts of a dictator.

To use a term used by the right: Cancel Culture

Brian Stelter:






Also Brian Stelter:

Using the renewal of FCC licenses to control the media narrative runs much deeper than cancel culture but trying to cancel the media this is a narrative he has been promoting since 2012...........

August 2012: Trump says Black journalist Touré, then a co-host of the MSNBC show “The Cycle,” should be “forced to resign” for comments in which Touré uttered a variant of the N-word while arguing that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was using racially coded language to try to make President Barack Obama seem frightening. (Touré had apologized before Trump’s demand.)

November 2012: Trump suggests the firing of then-MSNBC host Chris Matthews for saying, on the night of Obama’s victory, that he was “so glad” Hurricane Sandy had occurred, because of its political impact. (Matthews had apologized before Trump’s suggestion.)

December 2012: Trump calls for the firing of Vanity Fair magazine Editor Graydon Carter, with whom he had feuded for years, over what he declares the magazine’s “worst ever issue.”

December 2012: Trump says “Scots should boycott Glenfiddich garbage” because the whisky brand selected Michael Forbes, a farmer who refused to sell his land to make way for a Trump golf course, as “Top Scot” of the year.

March 2013: Trump says, “Everyone should cancel HBO until they fire low life dummy Bill Maher! Get going now and feel good about yourself!”

July 2013: Trump asks people to “boycott & cancel subscriptions” to Rolling Stone magazine because of a cover featuring Boston Marathon terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

October 2013: Trump urges “everybody possible” to “cancel their subscription” to New York Magazine over an insulting tweet about Trump’s marriage from Dan Amira, who was online editor at the time.

March 2014: After Trump is left off a CNBC list of the most influential business leaders, he says, “Stupid poll should be canceled—no credibility.”

May 2014: Trump calls for the firing of, or at least an apology from, the person at The Oklahoman newspaper who wrote a headline calling then-Oklahoma City Thunder NBA star Kevin Durant “Mr. Unreliable.” (The newspaper had already apologized.)

June 2014: Trump says people should “Boycott Mexico” until a Marine reservist who was jailed for crossing the border with loaded guns is released from prison. (He was released later in the year.)

April 2015: Trump suggests that conservative writer Jonah Goldberg, then a senior editor of National Review magazine, should be forced to resign for writing that Trump had been “tweeting like a 14-year-old girl” in response to another conservative writer calling Trump a clown. Trump also suggests Fox News anchor Bret Baier should stop having Goldberg on his show.

June 2015: When Spanish-language television network Univision severed its business relationship with Trump after his campaign launch speech, in which he labeled Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists, Trump tweets, “Anyone who wants strong borders and good trade deals for the US should boycott @Univision.”

July 2015: Trump calls for a boycott of Macy’s after Macy’s discontinued its business dealings with him over those same comments about people from Mexico. Trump also tweets “Great” when someone tells him that people are canceling their Macy’s credit cards.

August 2015: Trump calls for the firing of the late conservative writer and Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer, a regular Trump critic.

September 2015: After National Review editor Rich Lowry argued on Fox News that rival Republican candidate Carly Fiorina had “cut off (Trump’s) balls with the precision of a surgeon” in a primary debate, Trump says: “Incompetent @RichLowry lost it tonight on @FoxNews. He should not be allowed on TV and the FCC should fine him!” (Lowry responds, “I love how Mr. Anti-PC now wants the FCC to fine me. #pathetic.”)

December 2015: Trump calls for the firing of then-CBS News journalist Sopan Deb and NBC/MSNBC journalist Katy Tur over reporting he disputed about how he handled protesters during a rally speech.

February 2016: Trump says people should “boycott all Apple products” until the company stops fighting a government request to break into the cell phone of a deceased California terrorist.

February 2016: Trump says Fox News should fire Republican strategist and commentator Karl Rove for being insufficiently positive about his victory in the Nevada caucuses.

February 2016: Trump calls on the Wall Street Journal to fire its editorial board, which had criticized him, and its pollster, which showed results he didn’t like.

March 2016: Trump proposes a boycott of Megyn Kelly’s Fox News show, complaining that it is too negative toward him.

September 2016: After the Dallas Morning News and Arizona Republic newspapers endorse Hillary Clinton for president and USA Today declares Trump unfit for the office, Trump says, “The people are really smart in cancelling subscriptions to the Dallas & Arizona papers & now USA Today will lose readers! The people get it!”

September 2017: Trump tweets that NFL players and other athletes who don’t stand for the National Anthem should be told, “YOU’RE FIRED.” He says in another tweet, “Fire or suspend!” And at a rally, he says, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners when somebody disrespects our flag to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired, he’s fired.’ ”

October 2017: Suggesting he could use the power of the state against media entities he dislikes, Trump muses about challenging the broadcast licenses of NBC and other networks over their news coverage. (He again broached the subject of reviewing NBC’s license in September 2018.)

November 2017: Trump calls for a boycott of CNN.

August 2018: Trump tweets, “Many @harleydavidson owners plan to boycott the company if manufacturing moves overseas. Great! Most other companies are coming in our direction, including Harley competitors.”

June 2019: Trump suggests people stop “using or subscribing” to AT&T to pressure the company to make changes at CNN, which it owns.

September 2019: Trump suggests that actress Debra Messing should be fired for calling on a news outlet to publish the names of people attending a Trump fundraiser and for a tweet promoting a church sign that said “a black vote for Trump is mental illness.” (Messing had apologized for the tweet about the church sign.)

January 2020: Trump says The New York Times should fire columnist Paul Krugman, a winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, for having incorrectly predicted a global recession after Trump’s victory in 2016.

May 2020: The day after Twitter appended a fact check link to dishonest Trump claims about mail-in voting, Trump threatens to shut down social media companies: “Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.”

May 2020: Trump seeks the firing of Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” for the show playing a misleadingly shortened clip of comments by Attorney General William Barr. (Todd apologized, saying it was an inadvertent mistake.) Again broaching the power of the state, Trump tags the accounts of the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates television, and its chairman, Ajit Pai.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/07/politics/fact-check-trump-cancel-culture-boycotts-firings

And that doesn't even include that doesn't even include all of the businesses trump called to boycott...............

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-...-of-companies-protesting-georgia-voting/

While he and his followers screamed about the other side being the face of cancel culture it was trump who was doing this all along.

The government didn't force the medias hand into canceling Rosanne. Talk about a false flag.