Walt Disney-owned ABC said it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air, after remarks by the show’s late-night host about Charlie Kirk’s assassination sparked harsh criticism by the head of the FCC.<\/p>\n
Reuters<\/p>\n
ABC indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s late-night talk show Wednesday over comments on the assassination of Charlie Kirk after a threat by the U.S. communications regulator against the network\u2019s owner, the Walt Disney Company.<\/p>\n
Mr. Kimmel is the highest-profile figure in a wave of firings and suspensions roiling the country after Mr. Kirk\u2019s killing, drawing accusations of censorship and cancel culture against U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>, his administration and supporters.<\/p>\n The President celebrated ABC\u2019s move and urged NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, two other late-night hosts who have mocked Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat 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,\u201d Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social late Wednesday. \u201cThat leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, on Monday, Mr. Kimmel suggested that the suspect in Mr. Kirk\u2019s death might be a Trump supporter.<\/p>\n \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 he said.<\/p>\n Mr. Kimmel also aired a clip of Mr. Trump responding to a reporter\u2019s question about how he was holding up in the wake of Mr. Kirk\u2019s death, in which Mr. Trump rapidly pivoted to talking up his plan to build a new White House ballroom. \u201cHe\u2019s at the fourth stage of grief: construction,\u201d Mr. Kimmel quipped. \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.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump vows crackdown on left-wing groups after Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination<\/a><\/p>\n Police subsequently said the suspected assassin, Tyler Robinson, had left-of-centre politics.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission, threatened to investigate Disney, which could lead to broadcasters being stripped of their licenses, and also urged local stations to refuse to air Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,\u201d Mr. Carr told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. \u201cDisney needs to see some change here, but the individual stations that are taking their content, it\u2019s time for them to step up and say \u2018this garbage, to the extent that that\u2019s what comes down the pipe, in future isn\u2019t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n A woman wears a Statue of Liberty costume as she holds an image of a broken heart, outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre, where Jimmy Kimmel Live is recorded for broadcast, in Los Angeles, on Wednesday.Daniel Cole\/Reuters<\/p>\n Nexstar Media Group, which owns 32 ABC affiliate stations, then announced that it would pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its lineup. Andrew Alford, the head of the company\u2019s broadcasting division, described Mr. Kimmel\u2019s comments about Mr. Kirk as \u201coffensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.\u201d By Wednesday evening, ABC had suspended Mr. Kimmel\u2019s show entirely.<\/p>\n Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic commissioner at the FCC, accused the Trump administration of censorship. \u201cAn inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship and control. This administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, described Mr. Kimmel\u2019s punishment as part of a \u201ccoordinated\u201d and \u201cdangerous\u201d campaign to silence critical voices. The Republican Party \u201cdoes not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n Said MSNBC host Chris Hayes: \u201cThe countries where comedians can\u2019t mock the leader on late night TV are not really ones you want to live in.\u201d<\/p>\n The action against Mr. Kimmel is part of a broader clampdown that has seen Americans face professional consequences for comments on Mr. Kirk during the past week. The comments have ranged from making light of Mr. Kirk\u2019s death to criticizing his politics. Those either fired or suspended include some public figures \u2013 such as MSNBC pundit Matthew Dowd, Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah and comic book author Gretchen Felker-Martin \u2013 as well as many regular people: airline employees, teachers, a Secret Service agent, a Marine, a university administrator and a video game developer, among others.<\/p>\n The firings have been spurred on by MAGA influencers, who have worked to collate social media comments critical of Mr. Kirk with information on the commenters\u2019 employers. Trump administration officials have also been involved. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell and Navy Secretary John Phelan warned of consequences for employees found to have celebrated Mr. Kirk\u2019s death. Deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau said foreign nationals in the U.S. could face immigration consequences for \u201cpraising, rationalizing or making light\u201d of Mr. Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n The President also suggested this week that he might target media organizations after an ABC reporter asked him about the line between freedom of speech and hate speech.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll probably go after people like you, because you treat me unfairly. It\u2019s hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they\u2019ll come after ABC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n On his show,\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel Live, Mr. Kimmel suggested that the suspect in Mr. Kirk\u2019s death might be a Trump supporter.Mike Blake\/Reuters<\/p>\n On Monday, the President launched a US$15-billion libel suit<\/a> against The New York Times and Penguin Random House for articles and a book by Times reporters that suggested he had been a poor businessman and broke tax laws.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has long called for various people who criticize him or with whose politics he disagrees to be fired. In July, after CBS announced the upcoming cancellation<\/a> for financial reasons of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a frequent Trump critic, the President posted on social media: \u201cI hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump says he\u2019s designating anti-fascist Antifa movement as a terrorist organization<\/a><\/p>\n During last year\u2019s election campaign, Mr. Trump threatened to have the broadcast licenses of ABC, CBS and NBC revoked for what he said was unfair coverage of him. Earlier this year, ABC and CBS agreed to pay US$15-million and US$16-million, respectively, to settle lawsuits brought by the President. He is also suing the Wall Street Journal<\/a> over coverage of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and child sex trafficker.<\/p>\n The President and members of his administration, including Vice-President JD Vance and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, have also said in the wake of Mr. Kirk\u2019s killing that they will crack down on NGOs that they accuse of funding violent protests. Mr. Vance this week suggested that the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations are two groups that may be targeted. There is no evidence either one funds violent protests. The latter was founded by George Soros, a billionaire who funds Democratic political candidates. <\/p>\n