Erika Kirk is revealing the conversations she had with Sinclair Broadcast Group after Jimmy Kimmel’s controversial comments about her late husband, Charlie Kirk.
In a preview clip from an interview with Jesse Watters set to air on Fox News on Nov. 5, Kirk said Sinclair reached out to her while Kimmel was facing backlash for a monologue he delivered in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing in September.
“They asked, ‘Do you want Jimmy to give you an apology? Do you want to be on a show? How can we make it right?'” Kirk said. “Through our team, I responded. I said, ‘Tell them thank you. We received their note. This is not our issue. This is not our mess.'”
Kirk added that her message to Kimmel was, “If you want to say ‘I’m sorry’ to someone who’s grieving, go right ahead. But if that’s not in your heart, don’t do it. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.”
Erika Kirk has revealed Sinclair asked if she wanted to go on Jimmy Kimmel’s show after the comedian’s controversial comments about her late husband, Charlie Kirk.
In September, both Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group announced they would stop airing Kimmel’s show on their local ABC affiliates in response to the comedian saying that “the MAGA gang” was “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 critics argued he misled his audience by suggesting Tyler Robinson, the suspect charged with killing Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, is a supporter of President Donald Trump. ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely on Sept. 17 after facing pressure from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, who criticized Kimmel for the remarks.
In a statement issued on Sept. 17, Sinclair demanded that Kimmel issue a “direct apology to the Kirk family,” as well as “make a meaningful personal donation” to the family and to Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA.
Jimmy Kimmel chokes up over Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika in emotional monologue
Jimmy Kimmel speaks during the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 8, 2025.
By Sept. 22, ABC’s parent company, Disney, announced that Kimmel’s show would return the following night. The company said it suspended the show because “we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” but he was brought back to the air following days of “thoughtful conversations.”
Jimmy Kimmel says his Charlie Kirk comments were ‘maliciously’ mischaracterized
During his first monologue back after the suspension, Kimmel did not directly apologize for his comments but said it was not his “intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.”
The comedian also choked up in his monologue as he said it was “never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” and he praised Erika Kirk for forgiving her husband’s alleged killer during an emotional eulogy.
“That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow,” Kimmel said. “It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many. If there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that.”
Sinclair initially declined to resume airing Kimmel’s show on its ABC affiliates but brought it back starting on Sept. 26, even though Kimmel had not met its demands for an apology and donation.
Kimmel has continued to defend his original comments about Charlie Kirk. During a conversation at Bloomberg Screentime in October, he argued his statements were “intentionally, and I think maliciously, mischaracterized.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Erika Kirk talks Jimmy Kimmel controversy with Jesse Watters