LOS ANGELES, California — “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was pulled from the air “indefinitely” by ABC after the head of the FCC threatened legal action because of the host’s comments about reactions to the slaying of Charlie Kirk.
The move by ABC, which is owned by Disney, also comes after Nexstar Media, which owns 23 of the network’s affiliates, said it intended to pre-empt airings of the program, Variety reports.
“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be pre-empted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson tells CNN.
President Donald Trump celebrated ABC’s move on the social media site Truth Social, writing, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. ABC’s statement to CNN did not give a reason why Kimmel’s show was preempted.
During both Monday and Tuesday’s show, Kimmel said during his monologue that the “MAGA gang” were using Kirk’s death to score political points by painting Kirk’s killer as an extreme leftist, Variety reports.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has said the accused killer, Tyler Robinson, had a “leftist ideology.” Robinson’s parents also told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year. Police say Robinson’s motive remains unknown and that he’s not cooperating with investigators.
Before ABC’s decision, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said on a podcast Wednesday that his agency might “take action” against the network because of Kimmel’s comments, Variety reports.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the administration for “using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression” in a post on X.
The suspension of Kimmel’s show is raising concerns about free speech, especially with a government agency threatening retribution against a network. It also comes after Vice President JD Vance vowed to dismantle “left-wing extremist networks.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi drew criticism from both liberals and conservatives after she suggested that people who engaged in “hate speech” could be prosecuted.
Two Ohio Republican lawmakers want to expand the state’s hate crime definition in response to the murders Kirk and Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman.
The removal of Kimmel’s show comes just two months after CBS announced it was canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” another frequent critic of the Trump administration.
CBS said “Late Show” was canceled for financial reasons, not for content. But the timing — three days after Colbert criticized a settlement between Trump and Paramount Global, parent company of CBS, over a “60 Minutes” story — led two U.S. senators to publicly question the motives.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
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