Disney-owned ABC announced on Wednesday that it will stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely after comments made by the late-night talk show host about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk drew sharp criticism.Nexstar Media Group released a statement earlier in the day saying it would “preempt the program for the foreseeable future,” citing Kimmel’s comments as offensive and out of step with community standards.“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” 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.”The controversy erupted after a recent Kimmel monologue in which he criticized Republican efforts to shape the narrative around Kirk’s killing..“We hit 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 doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on his show Monday night.“In between the finger-pointing, there was, uh, 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.”According to the Daily Mail, Kimmel could now be investigated by federal authorities over the flippant comments.Brendan Carr, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), told right-wing podcast host Benny Johnson on Wednesday that Kimmel’s comments constituted the “sickest conduct possible.”“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.”Kimmel, like fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert, has been an outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump and his policies for multiple years.CBS announced in July that Colbert’s show would end after this season for financial reasons, though some media critics have suggested his combative stance on Trump was also a factor in his show’s cancellation.Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday night, saying Kimmel’s suspension was “great news for America.”.“Congratulations to ABC News for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump said.“Kimmel has zero talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”CTV News reported that the Center for American Rights — which has previously filed bias complaints against NBC, ABC, and CBS — submitted a complaint to the FCC on Wednesday regarding Kimmel’s remarks.The group argued that “it is no defence to say that Kimmel was engaging in satire or late-night comedy rather than traditional news.”
