What's Been Said About Jimmy Kimmel Being Pulled Off the Air?
How Jimmy Kimmel's Suspension Led to Widespread Reactions
Published
Late-night TV show fans nationwide were left shocked on September 17 when it was revealed "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" had been indefinitely pulled off the air by ABC.
And it turns out the comedian's suspension was prompted by comments he'd made about Charlie Kirk's murder and MAGA, which Nexstar Media Group -- the company that owns 32 ABC affiliate stations across America -- "strongly" objected to.
We're going to take a look at what kind of reactions -- both positive and negative -- have been shared in the wake of the late-night show host's removal from the air.
Jimmy Criticized Trump While Speaking About Charlie's Death
Kimmel claimed MAGA-affiliated figures in media and politics were trying to characterize Kirk's alleged murderer "as anything other than one of them" in his opening monologue, according to USA Today.
He then stated the same individuals were doing everything they could in the wake of Kirk's death to "score political points" and quipped the president's reaction to the commentator's murder was similar to "how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish."
The late-night host said there was "something wrong" with President Donald Trump ... referring to a clip of Trump talking about the progress on the White House's new ballroom when he was asked about how he was doing days after Kirk was shot.
Kimmel wondered whether Trump was focusing on the renovation "so he can be bad about that instead of the Epstein list."
He Received Support From Both Hollywood and Washington
Numerous Hollywood entities and figures spoke out about Kimmel being pulled off the air, including Ben Stiller, Jean Smart, and Wanda Sykes -- who claimed Trump was able to "end freedom of speech within his first year" as opposed to ending the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, according to NBC News.
Various unions representing individuals working in the entertainment industry -- including The Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists -- issued statements of their own to condemn the late-night host's removal.
A group of Democratic congresspeople issued a statement calling for the resignation of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and claimed he had "disgraced the office he holds" ... on a podcast Wednesday, hours before Kimmel was yanked, Carr seemed to issue a veiled threat to Disney -- ABC's parent company -- about Kimmel's remarks, talking about "the easy way or the hard way."
Former President Barack Obama shared a post on his X account to pronounce the Trump administration had taken cancel culture "to a new and dangerous level" after years of complaining about its effects.
ABC's Action Has Its Share of Supporters
Some of the reactions to Kimmel's removal were positive and celebrated the shift in late-night programming.
Vice President J.D. Vance shared a post on X to jokingly congratulate Secretary of State Marco Rubio on becoming "the new host of ABC’s late night show."
Conservative commentator Benny Johnson -- whose podcast Carr had been -- said Kimmel's removal was part of what he described as "consequence culture" and added he felt "the line was crossed" when he spoke about Kirk's murder.
Dave Portnoy said on his X account the late-night host was removed from the air for saying something many people would "find offensive, rude, dumb in real time."
