ABC insiders are apoplectic over the cancellation of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — and they’re blaming the network for not editing the late-night host’s controversial monologue before it aired Monday.
Kimmel’s show was pulled from the air “indefinitely” Wednesday night after the host made apparently false claims about Charlie Kirk’s accused killer — implying that he was part of the MAGA movement. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seized on Kimmel’s comments in a Thursday CNBC interview, saying they “appeared to directly mislead” the public.
“ABC is stupid,” one ABC source fumed. “They should have edited Kimmel. They know Trump is after him. Their standards department should have flagged it. They should have known better.”
Carr and President Trump have zeroed in on major networks including ABC over their alleged bias and news distortion. Trump settled a lawsuit for $16 million with the Disney-owned network last year over defamatory claims by its star anchor George Stephanopoulos.
A source close to ABC said the settlement should have served as a “lesson” for ABC when it comes to sensitive political topics.
Here’s the latest on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension after Charlie Kirk comments
“It’s ABC’s fault. After what happened with George Stephanopoulos, they should have known,” the person said, adding that Kimmel’s monologue had “veered into political commentary” and away from “comedy.”
ABC did not respond to requests for comment.
The comments in question came early in Kimmel’s monologue Monday night when he turned to the brutal killing of Kirk at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem last week.
“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, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” the host said on his show, which is taped in front of a live audience.
Conservatives slammed those comments, saying they mischaracterized the political views of the accused shooter, Tyler Robinson, whose mother said her son had shifted toward the political left and had become “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.”
Carr said on a podcast Wedneday that Kimmel’s remarks were part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people,” and that the FCC was “going to have remedies that we can look at.”
Hours later, ABC said Kimmel was off the air after Nexstar Media Group, which serves as a primary affiliate for ABC, confirmed that it would “preempt” Kimmel’s program in the wake of his remarks.
Sinclair Broadcasting, another affiliate for ABC, also said it would yank “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its stations until the host apologizes directly to Charlie Kirk’s family and donates to his political activist group.
Kimmel has been on Trump’s radar since CBS canceled Stephen Colbert’s show earlier this year.
In July, CBS said it planned to ax “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” next May, citing financial reasons and sagging viewership. At the time, Colbert had mocked his bosses for settling its own lawsuit with Trump over claims that CBS-run “60 Minutes” “deceptively edited” a sit-down with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris to make her look better.
The surprising news caused Kimmel to blast the decision, writing on his personal Instagram Story, “Love you Stephen. F–k you and all your Sheldons CBS,” appearing to reference CBS’s hit “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Young Sheldon.”
At the time, Trump celebrated the news on Truth Social, saying Kimmel and NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon were “next.”
“The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone,” Trump wrote. “These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”
Following ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel, Trump told reporters Thursday that the host was yanked over his “bad ratings.”
“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings, more than anyone else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,” Trump said.
