ABC takes Jimmy Kimmel off air ‘indefinitely’ over Charlie Kirk comments

ABC is taking Jimmy Kimmel off the air “indefinitely” over comments the late-night host made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to multiple reports.

The decision, announced Wednesday, came just minutes after Nexstar Media Group said its affiliate stations across the country will preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live” starting Wednesday evening over his comments.

Kimmel during his show on Monday night said the country “hit some new lows over the weekend,” when the “MAGA gang desperately tried to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”

The comedian accused conservative Republicans of trying to “score political points” from Kirk’s death.

Kimmel then attacked President Trump, joking that he was mourning Charlie Kirk “the way a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

Nexstar, in its announcement, said 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.”

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, 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 preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”

Nexstar, which owns The Hill, is the largest provider of local news in the country, with affiliate stations in dozens of markets across the United States. It also owns NewsNation and the CW.

The comedian’s comments have been widely condemned by conservative media figures in recent days, and on Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr called his comments “some of the sickest conduct possible.”

Kimmel has long been a critic of Trump and his allies, and the president earlier this year predicted he could be taken off the air following Paramount’s decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Carr on Wednesday in a post on the social platform X wrote that he wanted to “thank 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 values. I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar’s lead,” he wrote.