Kimmel said that Trump’s response to Kirk’s death “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”
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US broadcaster ABC on Wednesday suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely, after comments made about Charlie Kirk’s killing led a group of affiliated stations to say it would not air the show.
According to a statement from Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, which operates 23 ABC affiliates, Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”
The veteran late-night comic, who recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Host For A Game Show, made remarks about the reaction to Charlie Kirk's assassination last week on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday and Tuesday nights.
Kimmel had said, among other remarks, that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
Kimmel said that Trump’s response to the conservative activist’s death “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”
The ABC network acted quickly after Nexstar Communications Group announced that it would discontinue the program on Wednesday.
Kimmel's late-night show has been broadcast by ABC since 2003, and Kimmel's contract expires next year, May.
Trump celebrates Kimmel's yank-off
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who is currently on a state visit to the UK, took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to celebrate ABC’s move.
Trump wrote, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
Earlier in the day, Brendan Carr, Chairman of the US regulator FCC, called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and said his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.
He claimed the comic appeared to be making an intentional effort to mislead the public into believing that Kirk’s assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter.
During his Monday evening monologue, Kimmel suggested Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican.
“The MAGA Gang (is) 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,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said on the Benny Johnson podcast. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
More of what Kimmel said on his show
Jimmy returned to the topic on Tuesday night, mocking Vice President JD Vance’s performance as guest host for Kirk’s podcast.
He said Trump was “fanning the flames” by attacking people on the left. “Which is it? Are they a bunch of sissy pickleball players because they’re too scared to be hit by tennis balls, or a well-organised deadly team of commandos? Because they can’t be both of those things.”
Charlie Kirk, an American far-right campaigner and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed last week, 10 September, as he debated at a Utah campus event in Utah Valley. His death stunned the US and exposed deep divisions in what was already a polarised and charged political climate.
Much of the prominent Trump ally's comments and strong political views have stirred controversy, with liberals and opponents rejecting any attempts to honour his life.
In response, the Trump administration and his MAGA base have stepped up efforts to police speech about Kirk’s death.
Earlier this week, US Vice President JD Vance, a friend of Kirk, urged Americans to turn in fellow citizens who mocked the assassination, while Carr has launched investigations of outlets that have angered Trump.