{"id":152642,"date":"2025-09-18T12:43:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T12:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/152642\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T12:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T12:43:08","slug":"jimmy-kimmel-live-suspended-by-abc-over-charlie-kirk-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/152642\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Suspended by ABC Over Charlie Kirk Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update (7:05 p.m. ET): ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel<\/a> Live!<\/a> in the wake of an affiliate owner\u2019s decision to preempt airings of the late-night talk show in the wake of host Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s comments on the death of Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the network said the show would be, \u201cpre-empted indefinitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The news comes after Nexstar, an affiliate-owning network with dozens of local ABC channels, announced its intention to preempt\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel Live! episodes beginning with Wednesday (September 17) night.<\/p>\n

Kimmel\u2019s comments were also criticized by Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, who threatened to take action against ABC affiliates over the host\u2019s words, saying<\/a> on a podcast that it \u201cappears to be an action by Jimmy Kimmel to play into the narrative that this [shooter] was somehow a MAGA or Republican-motivated person. What people don\u2019t understand is that the broadcasters \u2026 have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest. When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there\u2019s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Original Story (6:37 p.m. ET):\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel<\/a> Live!<\/a> will be disappearing from some audiences\u2019 local stations, effective immediately.<\/p>\n

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. announced on Wednesday (September 17) that the company would be preempting the late-night talk show on its ABC affiliate networks in response to host Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s recent comments about the death of Charlie Kirk<\/a>, \u201cfor the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight\u2019s show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,\u201d the company revealed in a press release.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a>, the company\u2019s president, Andrew Alford, said, \u201cMr. Kimmel\u2019s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located. Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, was murdered last week<\/a> while speaking at an open forum event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, as part of his campus tour initiative.<\/p>\n

On his Tuesday, September 16 show, Kimmel said, \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously, on his September 15 show<\/a>, Kimmel criticized Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s response to the Kirk, after he fielded a question about Kirk and began talking about his reconstruction of the White House ballroom: \u201cThis is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cThere\u2019s something wrong with him, there really is. I mean, who thinks like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

On his September 11 show,<\/a> Kimmel slammed Trump for failing to call for unity in the wake of Kirk\u2019s death, saying, \u201cWith all these terrible things happening, you would think that our President would at least make an attempt to bring us together, but he didn\u2019t. President Obama did. President Biden did. Presidents Bush and Clinton did. President Trump did not. Instead, he blamed Democrats for their rhetoric.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimmel previously addressed the shooting of Kirk on Instagram<\/a>, writing, \u201cCan we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents, and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nexstar owns more than 200 stations in 116 markets in the U.S.<\/p>\n

ABC affiliate stations that are owned<\/a> by Nexstar include:<\/p>\n

Albany, NY (WTEN)
Augusta, GA (WJBF)
Billings, MT (KSVI)
Binghamton, NY (WIVT\/WBGH-CD)
Burlington, VT (WVNY)
Clarksburg\/Weston, WV (WBOY)
Dothan, AL (WDHN)
Erie, PA (WJET)
Evansville, IN (WEHT)
Grand Rapids, MI (WOTV)
Harrisburg, PA (WHTM)
Hartford\/New Haven, CT (WTNH)
Knoxville, TN (WATE)
Lansing, MI (WLAJ)
Lubbock, TX (KAMC)
Midland\/Odessa, TX (KMID)
Nashville, TN (WKRN)
New Orleans, LA (WGNO)
Panama City, FL (WMBB)
Richmond, VA (WRIC)
Rockford, IL (WTVO)
Salt Lake City, UT (KTVX)
Sioux City, IA (KCAU)
Syracuse, NY (WSYR)
Terre Haute, IN (WAWV)
Topeka, KS (KTKA)
Tri-Cities, TN-VA (WJHL)
Utica, NY (WUTR)
Watertown, NY (WWTI)
Wheeling WV-Steubenville, OH (WTRF)
Youngstown, OH (WYTV)<\/p>\n

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