US chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live has been pulled from the air following comments made by its host about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel made reference to Kirk's death on Monday and Tuesday's editions of the ABC programme, including that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel also said.
Additionally, he joked about US President Donald Trump's responding to a question about how he was mourning Kirk's death by praising the construction of a new White House ballroom.
"This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish," he said.
Disney-owned ABC, which has aired Kimmel's late-night show since 2003, has moved quickly after Nexstar Communications Group, one of the largest owners of television stations in the US, said it would not air the show.
Nexstar said on Wednesday that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
The company said its “owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt” Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future."
In response, ABC said it would remove Jimmy Kimmel Live from its schedule "indefinitely" without giving an explanation.
Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US television regulator, later praised Nexstar "for doing the right thing".
“Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community.”
Prior to ABC's announcement, Carr had called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and said the FCC had a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and Disney accountable for spreading misinformation.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said on the Benny Johnson podcast. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.
"These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
He also called for Comcast-owned NBC to fire their late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
Once a cornerstone of the US television network, late-night shows are now haemorrhaging millions of dollars every year as viewers tune out, instead choosing to watch the best bits on YouTube and social media the next day, leaving them especially vulnerable to political attack.
Over the summer, CBS announced it would end The Late Show with Stephen Colbert next year following the expiration of Colbert's contract.
The decision was widely thought to be linked to parent company Paramount's decision to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump over the editing of an interview with Democratic rival Kamala Harris on CBS News' 60 Minutes programme ahead of last year's election.
Kimmel, whose contract with ABC expires in May 2026, has not commented on his effective suspension, but a number of Hollywood stars, including John Legend, Ben Stiller and Jamie Lee Curtis, have spoken in his defence.
According to Forbes, Kimmel is paid $16m per year to host his show, making him one of the highest-paid presenters in television alongside Fallon ($16m) and Colbert ($15m).
Forbes puts Kimmel's net worth at around $50m, which is on par with his competitors.
Photo: Jimmy Kimmel, winner of the Outstanding Host for a Game Show Award for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", attends the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 07, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
