Kimmel landed in hot water after his 15 September monologue on conservative firebrand Kirk’s death.
He said US President Donald Trump and his allies were “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them” and trying to “score political points from it”.
He also likened Trump’s reaction to the influencer’s murder to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish”.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr, who was appointed by Trump, threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcast licence during an interview with a conservative podcast.
After Carr’s comments, Sinclair and Nexstar said they would stop airing the show on their dozens of ABC affiliates.
ABC then pulled the show off the air entirely.
This triggered nationwide debates about free speech, including online trends of people canceling their Disney+ subscriptions.