Late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” – which has been on air since 2003 – was recently briefly suspended by its parent company ABC. This occurred as a result of comments made by host Jimmey Kimmel in relation to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
On Sept. 15, five days after Kirk’s assassination, Kimmel stated on his late-night show how he believed that Trump supporters and similarly aligned idealogues were “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” and that they were attempting to “score political points from it.” He was suspended two days later.
Following his suspension, many celebrities came out in opposition of ABC’s decision. Some critics included David Letterman, a fellow comedian and talk-show host, who stated, “I feel bad about this because we all see where this is going, correct? It’s managed media. It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous. And you can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian, criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.”
Actress Jean Smart also spoke out against Kimmel’s suspension on Instagram, stating “What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech. People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda.”
Some supported ABC’s decision, namely President Donald Trump, who stated that “Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings” and “is not a talented person”. Chair of the FCC and Trump appointee, Brendan Carr, also spoke in support of the decision to suspend Kimmel, stating, “appearing to directly mislead the American public.” Carr had also threatened action against ABC and their parent company, Walt Disney, before the decision was made.
Kimmel’s show was eventually reinstated, returning on Sept. 23. Upon his reinstatement, Kimmel stated on his talk-show that he never intended to “make light of the murder of a young man.” However, he made it clear that he would not bend to Trump, stating, “A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American.”
His reinstatement fostered a response from Trump that seems to imply an intention to take legal action against the company. He stated on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he intends to “test ABC out on this,” and that “Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.”