Did Jimmy Kimmel’s Show Get Canceled? Here’s What We Know
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was replaced by a repeat of Celebrity Family Feud on Wednesday night (September 17) after ABC pulled the late-night show over comments Jimmy Kimmel made about the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Disney’s ABC announced that the late-night talk show would be on indefinite hiatus following comments Kimmel made about Kirk, the conservative activist who was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10.
The comments people appeared to take offense to were made on Monday’s (September 15) show, when Kimmel said of the alleged shooter, “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
ABC made the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! after powerful station group Nexstar announced it would preempt the show on its 32 ABC affiliate stations. Sinclair Broadcast Group later announced it would be doing the same on its own affiliate stations.
Late Wednesday, a memo was sent to the owners of ABC’s more than 150 affiliate station partners, according to Variety. The memo stated that the network would be airing reruns of Celebrity Family Feud in the 11:35 pm slot on Wednesday and Thursday (September 18) in place of Kimmel’s show. “Formal guidance from Disney/ABC is forthcoming,” the memo also noted.
Per Variety, a source close to the situation claims that the network has not yet made a formal decision about the future of the long-running late-night program. Conversations between executives and Kimmel and his representatives were said to be ongoing throughout Wednesday.
It’s unclear whether Kimmel’s show will return on Friday (September 19) or if ABC will air other programming in its place. Sinclair announced it will be airing a special Kirk tribute show on its ABC affiliate stations on Friday and has also encouraged Kimmel to make a “direct apology” and “meaningful personal donation” to the Kirk family.
“Sinclair will not lift the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability,” the company said in a press release. “Sinclair also calls upon Mr. Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family. Furthermore, we ask Mr. Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.”
The company is also offering its Kirk tribute special to all other ABC stations across the country.
After the news broke on Wednesday, many viewers and fellow celebrities spoke out against ABC’s move, with some saying it went against free speech and others leveling accusations of “corruption.”
The move comes as Nexstar is pushing for the FCC to change its limits on TV station ownership, which would allow it to acquire rival station group, Tegna. The FCC is currently led by veteran Republican member Brendan Carr, who was hand-picked by President Donald Trump last year.
On Thursday, Nexstar denied pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air due to pressure from Carr.
Conversation24 Comments
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I think this finger pointing and offensiveness is getting out of hand. I am not a Jimmy Kimmel but I think they went too far taking his show off. The very thing that Charlie Kirk was promoting is what Kimmel was banned for and that is free speech.
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R
Excellent point!
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O
Freedom of speech is gone! DJT can say anything he wanys but no one else has that right anymore
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O
Free speech is guaranteed in the Constitution. Why is Jimmy not being allowed to exercise it? It seems to me that Mr. Neep can say any old thing he wants but won’t let anyone else exercise that right. Bring the show back; it is entertaining!
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P
Boycott ABC, Disney, and Hulu until the show returns
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G
Bring back Jimmy Kimmel! He's being punished for saying what many of us are thinking!! And he's speaking the truth!
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C
Sorry this shouldn’t be considered a free speech issue. It should be about an employer being able to fire an employee who does not follow their moral code. He should have been taken off the air years ago. I don’t recall any criticism when ABC got rid of Chris Harrison. Also, Megyn Kelly and Billy Bush were shown the door when they weren’t in lock step with the woke mob. Megyn for just knowing a child in black face as a teen for Halloween & BIlly for laughing at a crude joke from our President. in his early years on tv Kimmel wore black face & denigrated women all for laughs. It was different for him because he sold his soul to the left.
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Do you share a brain with someone. If so you may want to get it back before posting sheer stupidity.
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You mentioned “LOCK STEP” do you know what that is. It is what the Germany did to show royalty to Hitler. Anyway. I believe this situation is clear, that Trump and Companies push their agenda. If a person feels that Late Night Talk is going too far, or being WOKE, Change the channel. Late night shows are for people who have the intelligence, and brains to understand what is happening in our country. Let me add this. If we stop watching those stations that have kicked out those people, then their sponsors will lose billions of dollars. Think about that
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I have heard Kirk say about school shootings and guns, in order to protect the 2nd amendment and save our guns a few lives have to be lost. How evil is that, Kirk thought it's no big deal for children to die in schools and churches.
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Sinclair owns Washington DC's ABC affiliate WJLA-TV/ABC7. Ratings have fallen at that station after Sinclair took over the station as many viewers don' like Sincliar or the changes they made to the station
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Will Show be Back?
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Only if enough people complain, o
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and yet, we have a so called president that spouts off at the mouth embarrassing the whole country and that's okay?
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I rarely watch Kimmel , usually watch Fallon, he talks much less politics,, I got tired of nothing but political talk the first 15 minutes of Kimmels show,, I hear that stuff all day on regular news. Be like Johnny Carson and other old timers.. lighten things up.
ABC is his employer they can pretty much do as they please,, they pay his salary and his staffs salary. Kimmel isnt self employed,, ABC is probably seeing lower ratings and less ad dollars. Maybe Kimmel should move to cable where he can say what he wants.
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We are heading in a very dangerous time’s. For me it seems, the only people who are allowed to say what ever they want are those who are the ones who say things that follow Donald. Here is my opinion. If you don’t like Late night shows, don’t watch them. Watch movies, watch sports, watch cooking shows. Read a book. I watch late night shows. I love the opinions, I love the humor. It is my choice. I am 78 years old. You out there ember Jonny Carson.
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M
what kind of country has a convicted rapist/toddler /idiot run the country in the ground?folks will line up to piss on his grave.
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What kind of country allows a man with dementia to have his staff run the country.
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one with a corrupt SCOTUS.
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Waah!Stern is next!
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stern is on satelite not regulated can do as he pleases.
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O
To be perfectly clear, Jimmy Kimmel never said anything negative about Charlie Kirk himself. He criticized the Trump administration for creating a narrative around the murderer of Charlie Kirk before the facts were known. As is the case with most assassins, there are not yet any facts that place the killer as part of any organized movements. The assassin's father is MAGA (according to the killer) but the assassin is not; however he did grow up in the gun culture that is often associated with MAGA, learning the sharpshooter skills that resulted in Kirk's death. The facts are muddy and don't fit into the "desired narrative" of either conservatives or liberals. Unlike other stories of the past seven days, Jimmy Kimmel never attacked Charlie Kirk or his ideology.......he was always focused on the criticism of the Trump administration, which then attacked Kimmel and his livelihood using the power of the Federal Communications Commission in a seeming violation of the First Amendment (government stamping down on free speech).
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Absolutely! This is about Trump wanting to silence critics. He was looking for any excuse. It isnt even about Kirk - there was nothing disrespectful to him in Kimmel's comments
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I agree
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