Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show has been suspended indefinitely by ABC on Wednesday, after the comedian made controversial remarks about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
During Monday’s opening monologue, Kimmel, 57, claimed the “MAGA gang” was trying to score political points from Kirk’s death.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
He then pivoted to President Donald Trump’s response, noting that the White House had lowered the flag to half-staff in Kirk’s honor.
“On a human level, you can see how hard the president was taking this,” Kimmel remarked sarcastically, before cutting to a clip of President Trump outside the White House, asked how he was holding up in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.
Trump replied, “I think very good,” before abruptly switching topics to discuss renovations in the White House ballroom.
Kimmel cracked: “He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
The comic continued, mocking Trump again by replaying his comments on Fox & Friends two days after Kirk’s death, where the president mentioned going over ballroom renovations with architects when he received the news of Kirk’s death.
“And then we installed the most beautiful chandelier,” Kimmel quipped, imitating Trump’s voice.
Backlash Erupts
Kimmel’s remarks, which appeared to mock both Kirk’s killing and Trump’s reaction, were immediately met with heavy criticism, particularly from conservatives who accused the late-night host of crossing a line.
The backlash came at a sensitive moment, just days after Kirk, 31, was fatally shot during a Turning Point USA campus debate event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
Kirk’s assassination, carried out in front of students, shocked the nation and sparked mourning across political lines.
ABC and Nexstar Respond
By Wednesday, ABC confirmed that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would be pulled from the air “indefinitely.”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesperson told The Post.
Broadcast giant Nexstar Media Group, one of ABC’s largest affiliates, also released a statement saying it would no longer air the program.
“The company’s owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight’s show,” the company said.
“Nexstar 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.”
Fallout for Kimmel
The indefinite suspension marks one of the most dramatic shakeups in late-night TV in recent years. While Kimmel has long been known for his political satire, critics argue his jokes this time went beyond comedy, coming at a moment of national grief.
Whether Kimmel will issue an apology or whether ABC intends to reinstate the show remains unclear. For now, his remarks about Kirk and Trump have left the Emmy-winning host facing one of the biggest controversies of his career.