So, here we are—Jimmy Kimmel, that nighttime banter king who’s been lighting up screens since 2003, suddenly off the air indefinitely. What cosmic misalignment caused ABC to yank Jimmy Kimmel Live! right after his sharp-tongued riffs on the tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk? As a Virgo season mystery unfolds—a sign known for dissecting details to the bone—we’re left wondering if Kimmel’s critique of political point-scoring struck too close to home, or if it just crossed that invisible, but oh-so-delicate, line of broadcast diplomacy. With the political stars seemingly in retrograde and tempers flaring even among late-night comedians, could this be a cautionary tale about mixing sharp wit with hot-button tragedies? One thing’s for certain: when a talk show titan gets benched this fast, you gotta ask—what’s really behind the curtain? LEARN MORE.
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show has been suspended ‘indefinitely’ due to comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s shooting.
The TV star and comedian’s long-running chat show is being pulled off air by broadcaster ABC, it was announced on Wednesday (17 September).
The shock suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! comes after the host made a series of remarks about the shooting of right-wing political activist Kirk.
Kimmel claimed that supporters of Donald Trump were weaponising the 31-year-old’s death to ‘score political points’ – while taking the mick out of the President’s reaction to Kirk being gunned down.
Kirk passed away on 10 September after he was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.
Earlier this week, Kimmel discussed the shooting of Kirk and Robinson’s subsequent arrest in his monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which has aired on ABC since 2003.
Take a look at what he had to say here:
On Monday (15 September), Kimmel told viewers: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid [Robinson] who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.
“In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism. But on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this…”
Footage of Trump being asked by reporters about how he was holding up following the death of Kirk was then played, during which the commander-in-chief directs everyone’s attention to the ongoing construction of the new ballroom for the White House.
Kimmel then continued: “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief. Construction. Demolition, construction…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, okay? And it didn’t just happen once,” he said, before playing further footage of Trump deflecting questions about Kirk’s death and instead mentioning the building work.
Kimmel’s late-night show is being pulled by ABC after 22 years on air (ABC)
“There’s something wrong with him,” the late-night show veteran added, before questioning the President’s motivations for building the ballroom.
Kimmel went on: “Is it possible that he’s doing it intentionally so we could be mad about that instead of the Epstein list? By the time he’s out of office, the White House will have slot machines and a water slide.”
He then joked that Trump was currently operating in ‘major change-the-subject mode’ during conversations, while also taking swipes at vice-president JD Vance.
ABC – a network owned by Disney – then announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be removed from its schedule for the foreseeable.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be preempted indefinitely.”
The broadcaster announced the news shortly after network operator Nexstar – which owns a host of TV stations in the US – said it would stop airing Kimmel’s chat show.
The comedian made comments about the shooting of Charlie Kirk in a monologue earlier this week (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
The president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, Andrew Alford, said the network ‘strongly objects’ the comedian’s stance.
“Mr Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” he said, adding that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was being pulled to allow ‘cooler heads prevail’.
Following a 33-hour manhunt, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was taken into custody in connection with the shooting of Kirk.
He has since been charged with aggravated murder, commission of a violent offence in the presence of a child, two counts of witness tampering, two counts of obstruction of justice and felony discharge of a firearm.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Trump celebrated the suspension of Kimmel’s show in a Truth Social post, in which he said ‘congratulations to ABC’ while adding: “Kimmel has ZERO talent.”
It read: “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.
“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.”
In August, Trump had warned Kimmel and fellow late-night show host Jimmy Fallon that they ‘were next’, after Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show was cancelled by broadcaster CBS.
“Fallon has no talent,” he said at the time. “Kimmel has no talent. They’re next. They’re gonna be going. I hear they’re going to be going…”
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