Jimmy Kimmel's Late Night Show Suspension Has Everyone Laying Into Trump

Jimmy Kimmel's plans to ditch the United States may come sooner than we thought, as the late night host was dumped by ABC. A spokesperson for the network announced on September 17 that "'Jimmy Kimmel Live' will be pre-empted indefinitely" (via CNBC). The news came shortly after Nexstar Media Group declared that it would be pulling "Jimmy Kimmel Live" from its ABC-affiliated stations, citing Kimmel's comments about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk's death as the reason. Kimmel spoke about Kirk — who was shot to death while addressing a Utah Valley University crowd on September 10 — in a September 15 monologue on "Live," saying, among other things: "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."

Kimmel's comments sparked a reaction, specifically from the Federal Communications Commissions chair and Donald Trump's political ally Brendan Carr, who told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that "it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible" and that the FCC would intervene if Disney's ABC didn't "take action" (via X). Now the media and the public are calling Kimmel's pre-emption a "silencing," with the Trump administration instilling enough fear in broadcast networks to make them do the president's bidding. According to ABC insiders who spoke to Rolling Stone, senior executives from ABC and Disney felt pressured by the Trump administration to take action, even if they did not agree that Kimmel said anything out of line. Per one source, "They were pissing themselves all day."

Donald Trump has never been quiet about his disdain for Jimmy Kimmel — especially since the comedian has himself savagely slammed Trump in the past. The Republican president celebrated the cancellation news on Truth Social, writing, "Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done." Trump's praise comes just two months after he hoped he would play a part in taking down Kimmel. In the same July week that late night host Stephen Colbert announced the cancellation of his show, Trump wrote on Truth Social, "...Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the Untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, [Jimmy] Fallon will be gone."

Among the masses who have condemned Trump for his celebratory statements and ABC's actions, many of Kimmel's Hollywood friends have taken to social media. Comedian Wanda Sykes, who was supposed to make an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," called out Trump in an Instagram Reel, saying, "He didn't end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week, but he did end freedom of speech." In a similar post on Instagram, actor Jean Smart said she was "horrified" and, "People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda." Many stars have been outspoken about Trump's tirade against late night host, too. David Letterman, the man who inspired Kimmel's career, called it "pure cowardice" (via "The Barbara Gaines Show").