A spokesperson for the Disney-owned network announced that “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely” due to comments made by Kimmel about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. Kimmel emerged from the television studio not commenting on the matter.
ABC has taken late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off air indefinitely after he made comments about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. A 22-year-old suspect appeared in court on Tuesday charged with aggravated murder over last week’s shooting of the conservative activist.
Kimmel said during his show that the “Maga Gang” was trying to score political points off Kirk’s killing. He also criticized flags being flown at half-mast in honor of Kirk and mocked US President Donald Trump’s reaction to the shooting.
Although the motive for Kirk’s shooting has not been specified, authorities have stated that the suspect’s mother said he had become political and started to lean more to the left over the last year. The suspect, Tyler Robinson, was not registered to any political party and did not vote in the 2022 or 2024 elections.
Kimmel’s monologue prompted criticism, including that of the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, who said Kimmel’s conduct was “the sickest possible”. Anna Gomez, the only Democratic member of the FCC, criticized Carr’s remarks.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) condemned the decision to take Kimmel off air as a violation of constitutional free speech rights. Another union, SAG-AFTRA, said the move was the kind of suppression and retaliation that endangered everyone’s freedoms.
ABC’s announcement coincided with Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, announcing that it would not air “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for the foreseeable future due to the comedian’s “offensive and insensitive” remarks about Kirk.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c203n52x1y9o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
