Jimmy Kimmel’s Late-Night Show Suspended Amid Controversy Over Comments on Charlie Kirk Assassination
ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on Wednesday following a brief pressure campaign from the Trump administration and conservative media outlets. The backlash came after Kimmel made remarks during last week’s assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk that were misconstrued by conservatives seeking political mileage.
### Kimmel’s Comments and Conservative Backlash
On Monday’s episode of *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*, the comedian criticized conservatives for attempting to score political points from Kirk’s death.
“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 during his monologue.
Kimmel’s somewhat ambiguous comments followed a weekend during which conservatives blamed the left and transgender individuals for Kirk’s killing. At the time, little was known about the alleged shooter’s motives. On Tuesday, prosecutors disclosed that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, told his trans roommate and apparent romantic partner, “I had enough of his hatred.”
Despite limited information, conservatives launched a sprawling campaign demanding Kimmel’s firing, accusing him of claiming a right-winger had murdered Kirk. However, Kimmel never explicitly said on ABC that the alleged killer was a MAGA member, contrary to claims from the political right.
### Media Misrepresentation and Amplification
A Fox News article on Tuesday evening stated that Kimmel insinuated Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin was part of the MAGA movement. Fox News contributor Joe Concha claimed, “Jimmy Kimmel’s argument is that the guy with the trans boyfriend took down, gunned down the biggest supporter and advocate of President Trump because he’s MAGA.”
Fox News host Will Cain added on Wednesday that Kimmel was trying to “make the assassin MAGA,” while Brian Kilmeade, another Fox host, accused Kimmel of saying, “These MAGA guys wanted to pretend that this guy wasn’t one of them.”
Other conservative outlets joined the chorus. The Daily Wire wrote that “Kimmel claimed the suspected assassin of Charlie Kirk was part of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement,” and The Blaze declared: “Jimmy Kimmel claims Charlie Kirk shooter is MAGA during wildly unfunny monologue.”
None of these characterizations accurately reflected Kimmel’s original comments.
### Conservative Podcasters and FCC Pressure
Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson escalated the controversy on Wednesday morning by posting on X that Kimmel told the ABC audience Charlie Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA conservative, effectively blaming Kirk for his own assassination. Johnson called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke ABC’s broadcast license immediately. On his podcast, Johnson reiterated claims that Kimmel implied the right was responsible for Kirk’s killing and suggested the comedian believed Kirk “deserved it.”
In reality, Kimmel condemned the senseless murder of Kirk and criticized any cheering of the violence. On Instagram last week, he wrote:
> “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents, and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
Johnson’s calls were joined by Trump’s FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, who described Kimmel’s conduct as “some of the sickest conduct possible” and indicated that the FCC could take action against ABC. Carr accused Kimmel of pushing a narrative that Kirk’s shooter was motivated by MAGA or Republican beliefs and called for licensed broadcasters to take a stand, warning about potential fines or even license revocation for continuing to air “news distortion.”
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said, urging companies like Comcast and Disney to intervene and consider preempting Kimmel’s show.
### ABC and Broadcasters Respond
Within hours of the mounting pressure, ABC and major broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair removed *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* from their lineups, at least temporarily. According to a report by *Rolling Stone* on Wednesday night, multiple ABC and Disney executives were aware that Kimmel had not crossed any lines or said what conservatives claimed. However, fear of government repercussions led them to suppress any defense or clarification of Kimmel’s statement.
One source familiar with the situation described the internal response as “so cowardly.”
### Trump’s Reaction and Misinformation
Former President Donald Trump, who has long expressed a desire to use federal power against liberal late-night hosts, celebrated the suspension while adding his own inaccuracies to the conversation.
“The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he tweeted on Wednesday. The next morning, Trump claimed Kimmel was fired due to bad ratings, although the comedian has not been officially fired. Trump also falsely accused Kimmel of saying a “horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,” a statement that never occurred.
Given the successful and noisy MAGA outrage campaign against Kimmel, discerning truth from political spin has been challenging for many.
—
### Related Content
– Charlie Kirk Assassination: What We Know About the Suspect
– Conservatives Push FCC to Punish Media for ‘News Distortion’
– The Role of Late-Night Comedy in Political Discourse
—
**Note:** This article reflects information as of the current date and may be updated as new developments emerge.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jimmy-kimmel-suspended-abc-maga-trump-fcc-bs-1235430544/
