Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show has been suspended indefinitely. ABC announced on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will no longer air following the host’s comments on the assassination of ultra-conservative influencer, Charlie Kirk. His comments were met with harsh criticism from the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who ultimately urged the decision to cut out the show.
During ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on Monday, September 15, Kimmel spoke on the assassination and stated, “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.”
FCC Chairman Spoke Out
The chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, appeared on a YouTube episode with commentator Benny Johnson, the day Jimmy Kimmel was cancelled. He had criticized and seemingly threatened ABC, Disney, and Kimmel on the monologue related to Kirk during the Monday night show. “There’s calls for Kimmel to be fired,” Carr said. “I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this.”
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr stated. “Disney needs to see some change here, but the individual licensed stations that are taking their content, it’s time for them to step up and say this, you know, garbage to the extent that that’s what comes down the pipe in the future isn’t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities.”
Carr’s words on the YouTube episode furthered the downfall of the late-night show. After his comments on the late-night talk show host, Nexstar Media Group Inc. announced they would no longer air the show on 32 of its ABC affiliates. The president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, Android Alford, said, “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.” Shortly after, ABC joined in and stated they would pull him from the air as well.
The Assassination
Last week, conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated at his first stop on the “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University. 22-year-old Tyler Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Authorities are still investigating the crime and attempting to uncover the motive behind the brutal assassination.
Trump’s Reaction
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social around 1 a.m. Thursday morning, following the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s show. He wrote online, “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!!!”
The Sinclair Broadcast Group announced they will replace Kimmel’s ABC timeslot on Friday, September 19, with a special honoring the late Charlie Kirk and remembering him for who he was. Sinclair Vice Chairman Jason Smith denounced Kimmel’s remarks and stated they “were inappropriate and deeply insensitive.”
“We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today, and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks,” Smith said.
Jimmy Kimmel Criticizes Trump, not Kirk
Sinclair said they will not air Jimmy Kimmel’s show until “we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.” They also urge Kimmel to directly apologize to Kirk’s family and make a personal donation to them and his organization, Turning Point USA.
Previously, Kimmel called Kirk’s murder “senseless” on his show, and on the day it happened, he took to Instagram, sending love to his family and all victims of gun violence. On the September 11 episode, Kimmel also criticized Trump for blaming the shooting on Democrats. He cited former presidents such as Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, who tried to bring Americans together, unlike Trump, who is causing further division.
“With all these terrible things happening, you would think that our president would at least make an attempt to bring us together, but he didn’t,” Kimmel said. “Instead, he blamed Democrats for their rhetoric.”
