NEW YORK (AP) — ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely beginning Wednesday after comments that he made about Charlie Kirk’s killing led a group of ABC-affiliated stations to say it would not air the show.
Kimmel, the veteran late-night comic, made several comments about the reaction to Kirk’s assassination on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday and Tuesday nights, including that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
ABC, which has aired Kimmel’s late-night show since 2003, moved swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday. Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates.
There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. ABC’s statement did not cite a reason for why his show was preempted.
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.”