ABC suspends Jimmy Kimmel's Late-Night Show; what did he say about Charlie Kirk?

News reports quoting US network ABC said that Kimmel was criticised for his comments on the motives behind the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. The late-night show which has been aired by ABC since 2003 will be pulled out starting Wednesday (September 17), added reports.

Welcoming the move, US President Donald Trump praised the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show as "great news for America". "Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED," Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social, after his long-time critic's show was suspended.

Kirk's shooting

Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus.

The accused Tyler Robinson (22 years) used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop. He was arrested and has been formally charged with his murder. Robinson had told his transgender partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred”.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely," an ABC spokesperson told AFP.

Also read: Trump sues New York Times for USD 15 bn, calls it ‘most degenerate’ newspaper

Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division said Kimmel's comments about Kirk's death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.” Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates. So, what exactly did Kimmel say?

What Kimmel said

In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel said that “we hit 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 doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Further, Kimmel mocked Trump's response to Kirk's death pointing out that “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”

He also said that FBI chief Kash Patel has handled the investigation into the murder “like a kid who didn't read the book, BS'ing his way through an oral report”.

He returned to the topic on Tuesday night, mocking vice-president JD Vance's performance as guest host for Kirk's podcast.

ABC's decision to pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live" came shortly after Nexstar—one of the largest owners of ABC affiliate stations—announced it would stop airing the show “for the foreseeable future.”

Nexstar comments

Meanwhile, in a statement, Nexstar Broadcasting president Andrew Alford said he strongly objects to the remarks made by Kimmel.

“Mr Kimmel’s comments regarding Mr Kirk’s death are deeply offensive and insensitive, especially during a pivotal moment in our national political conversation. We believe they fail to represent the diverse perspectives and values of the communities we serve,” Alford stated.

He added, “Allowing Mr Kimmel continued airtime in these communities is not in the public interest at this time. We’ve made the difficult choice to preempt his programme to encourage a return to respectful and constructive dialogue.”

Also read: Who was Charlie Kirk? Trump supporter and activist shot dead in Utah

As of now, Kimmel has not issued a public response, said reports.

Legal attacks on media

This move to suspend one of the United States' most popular and influential late-night shows comes in the wake of President Donald Trump widening his legal attacks on media organisations that he accuses of bias against him.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has consistently lashed out at journalists who are critical of his administration, said an AFP report. He has limited the access of these journalists and launched lawsuits seeking substantial financial damages.

On Monday (September 15), the US president filed a $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times, accusing the publication of engaging in a "decades-long pattern" of malicious attacks.

Although US media enjoys strong constitutional protections, Trump has previously succeeded in similar legal actions against major outlets, securing multi-million dollar settlements from ABC (owned by Disney) and CBS (owned by Paramount).

These settlements, earmarked for Trump’s future presidential library, were widely interpreted as strategic moves by the parent companies to maintain favourable relations with the president, the AFP report pointed out.