ABC, a broadcasting station owned by Walt Disney Co., said it was pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” indefinitely following a sharp backlash over the host’s remarks about Slain’s right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
The move comes after station owner Nexstar Media Group said it would pull the show from ABC’s affiliate station as a result of the comments.
Texas-based Irving announced Wednesday that Kimmel will be out of the station in the near future.
“Nexstar strongly opposes Kimmel’s recent comments on the murder of Charlie Kirk, replacing the show with other programming in the ABC-related market,” a company representative said in a statement.
Kimmel said in his program monologue on Monday that Tyler Robinson, a Utah man accused of Kirk’s shooting death, could have been a Trump Republican. He said that Magazine supporters are “deeply trying to characterise the child who killed Charlie Kirk as something other than one of them, and are trying to do everything they can to score political points from there.”
Kimmel then laughed at President Trump and spoke about the construction of a new White House ballroom after being asked how he was responding to murders of his close allies.
Law enforcement officials revealed on Tuesday that Robinson has a free political tendency and expressed Kirk’s daze in communication with his roommate.
“I don’t think Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death are aggressive and insensitive at a critical period in our national political discourse and reflect the spectrum of community opinions, opinions, or values we are finding.”
Alford said he continues to provide Kimmel with a broadcasting platform.
The Nexstar decision comes shortly after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Kerr blows up Kimmel and threatens to take action against ABC. Appearing on the podcast of right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, Carr said that one punishment in one punishment can extract licenses from ABC affiliates.
Nexstar has ABC affiliates in 32 US markets, including New Orleans, New Haven, Nashville and Salt Lake City.
It is very rare for networks to drop shows in response to political pressure.
Bill Maher’s “political misunderstanding” was cancelled in 2002 by ABC and then after advertisers said “not co-ill” following comments about the hijacker on September 11th.
In 1970, CBS blocked the image of activist Abbie Hoffman when he appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” wearing a shirt made from the American flag.
But Trump and the FCC chairman, who showed his willingness to bid, now appears to be threatening the owners of broadcast and television stations in ways the country has never seen before.
Trump’s legal salvo is being resolved to CBS News, focusing on compiling a “60-minute” interview with his 2024 opponent, then-President Kamala Harris.
Within the news organization there was rage over what was widely seen as a surrender to Trump to clear David Ellison’s $8 billion merger path to Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The case was labelled as frivolous by first amendment experts.
Attacks are now spreading on late-night television, where commentary on the Trump administration is the source of tension. CBS this summer said the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would end in May, with sources citing financial losses. Colbert had blown up Paramount’s settlement with Trump a few days ago, calling it a bribe.
Trump also pulled a $16 million settlement from ABC in a defamatory loss lawsuit against George Stephanopoulos that he was civilly liable for raping author E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.
Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondy, say they want to crack down on congratulatory remarks about Kirk’s death or criticism of his views.
Anna Gomez, the FCC’s only Democrat, criticized the administration’s move in a statement.
“The unacceptable conduct of political violence by one disturbed individual should never be exploited as a justification of broader censorship or control,” Gomez said. “This administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to curb legitimate expressions.
