ABC has pulled late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air “indefinitely” following backlash over comments host Jimmy Kimmel made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The move came after the FCC threatened action, and shortly after Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest owner of local television stations and parent company of KTLA, announced it would preempt the show “for the foreseeable future” across its ABC-affiliated markets.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be preempted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson confirmed to multiple media outlets on Wednesday.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot by a sniper during a public forum at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Authorities have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in connection with the killing.
During his monologue Monday night, Kimmel criticized conservative media figures for their response to the shooting.
“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 said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Nexstar said it would replace Jimmy Kimmel Live! with alternative programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. “We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.”
Kimmel has not yet commented.
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