Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show has been taken off air following comments he made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The conservative activist was shot dead last week while speaking at `Utah Valley University in Orem.
The 31-year-old had been credited with energising the Republican youth movement and helping Donald Trump win the 2024 election, with the accused shooter Tyler Robinson, 22, making his first court appearance yesterday.
However, broadcaster ABC has caused controversy overnight after announcing Jimmy Kimmel Live had been pulled ‘indefinitely’ following comments made by the presenter about the shooting.
On Monday’s episode of the show – which he’s hosted since 2003 – Kimmel said the following about Kirk’s alleged killer: ‘We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.’
The news of the show being pulled off air came after Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the United States, said it would not broadcast the show after Kimmel’s comments.
Calling Kimmel’s comments ‘offensive and insensitive’, Andrew Alford, the president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, released a statement about its decision prior to the show being pulled.
‘We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,’ he said in a statement.
‘Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to pre-empt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.’
US President Donald Trump didn’t miss his chance to gloat about the talk show being pulled off air, posting on social media: ‘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.’
After the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in July, only two late-night hosts remain on air – The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon and Late Night’s Seth Meyers – who Trump then took aim at.
What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk’s shooting?
‘We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.’
‘That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!’
Despite his celebratory post, the pulling of Kimmel’s show has sparked outrage, with many Hollywood stars weighing in.
‘I am horrified at the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live. What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech,’ Hacks star Jean Smart wrote on X.
‘People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda. Though I didn’t agree at ALL with Charlie Kirk; his shooting death sickened me; and should have sickened any decent human being. What is happening to our country?’
‘ABC, NBC, CBS, stand up!!! Stand the f*** up!!!,’ Michael Keaton demanded.
‘This isn’t right,’ Ben Stiller lamented.
The Writer’s Guild of America also issued a statement that read: ‘The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice.
‘As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn’t have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to – painful as it may be at times – is the freeing agreement to disagree.’
In the wake of the shooting last week, Kimmel had described the assassination as ‘senseless’ and sent his love to all victims of gun violence.
‘Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?’ he wrote online.
‘On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirk’s and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.’
The news of his show being pulled comes after ABC’s rival network CBS announced the end of Colbert’s show – which will wrap up in May 2026.
Those who criticised the decision suggested it might have been related to the host criticise his network’s parent company settling a lawsuit with President Trump days before he brought the matter up on air.
However, CBS said the cancellation was ‘purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night’. ‘It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.’
Metro has contacted representatives for Jimmy Kimmel for comment.
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