By Lisa Richwine, David Shepardson and Trevor Hunnicutt
LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Walt Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday it was pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” off the air, after comments by the late-night show’s host about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk prompted a threat by the head of the top U.S. communications regulator against Disney.
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pressured broadcasters to stop airing content he has found objectionable, celebrated the news in a social media post. A number of Democratic lawmakers assailed the decision, saying free speech was under attack.
The suspension of Kimmel’s show marked the latest action taken against media figures, academic workers, teachers and corporate employees over their remarks about Kirk following his assassination.
Republican leaders and conservative commentators have warned Americans to mourn Kirk respectfully or suffer consequences, and some people have been fired or suspended after discussing the killing online.
Kimmel, who has frequently targeted Trump on his late-night comedy show, drew fire for remarks he made about the killing in his monologue on Monday.
“We 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,” Kimmel said.
Kirk, a 31-year-old activist and Trump-world celebrity known for his right-wing views and pugnacious debating style, was shot in the neck while speaking at a Utah university a week ago. A 22-year-old suspect has been charged with his murder, and his precise motive remains unclear.
Kimmel’s comments led to a response from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who urged local broadcasters to stop airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC. Carr suggested the commission could open an investigation and that broadcasters could potentially be fined or lose their licenses if there was a pattern of distorted comment.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said in a podcast interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson that aired Wednesday.
“Disney needs to see some change here, but the individual licensed stations that are taking their content, it’s time for them to step up and say this, you know, garbage to the extent that that’s what comes down the pipe in the future isn’t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities.”
After Carr spoke, Nexstar Media Group said it would stop airing the show on its 32 ABC affiliates, citing Kimmel’s comments. Nexstar, which needs FCC approval for its $6.2 billion deal to acquire smaller rival Tegna, drew praise from Carr, who thanked Nexstar for “doing the right thing.”
Shortly after Nexstar announced its decision, ABC, which holds FCC-approved licenses for the local broadcast affiliates that it owns, also said Kimmel would be pulled from the air.
“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will be preempted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson said, without elaborating.
Sinclair, the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, then said it would not air Kimmel’s show, even if ABC decides to bring it back, unless “appropriate steps” were taken. Sinclair called on Kimmel to apologize and said it would air a tribute to Kirk in Kimmel’s time slot on Friday.
Kimmel, who was seen on Wednesday leaving the El Capitan Theatre where his show is taped, did not respond to a request for comment.
TRUMP CHEERS, DEMOCRATS CRITICIZE
As broadcasters took action, Trump applauded the news in a post on Truth Social while also calling on Comcast-owned NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, the hosts of late-night comedy shows on the network who often make jokes at Trump’s expense.
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump said.
Democrats in turn criticized the removal of Kimmel from the air, with Senator Ed Markey calling it “censorship in action.”
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the FCC’s only Democratic member, said U.S. free-speech laws should prevent the FCC from telling broadcasters what they can air.
“This administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression,” she told CNN.
Trump has repeatedly sued, berated and threatened media companies whose coverage he disputes with legal or other action.
Trump this week filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times and book publisher Penguin Random House, accusing them of treating him unfairly.
CBS-parent Paramount paid $16 million in July to resolve a civil suit over what Trump alleged was the network’s deceptive editing of an interview with presidential candidate Kamala Harris. ABC in December paid $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ on-air description of the president’s conduct in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Following Kirk’s killing, political analyst Matthew Dowd was fired from MSNBC after he described the activist as a “divisive” figure who spread “hate speech,” and added “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”
MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued a statement apologizing for Dowd’s comments, which she said were “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.”
Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah said on Monday she was fired by the newspaper over a series of social media posts she made following the killing of Kirk, including one in which she noted Kirk’s past comments on Black women. The Post has said it does not comment on personnel matters and the newspaper’s union condemned the firing.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles and David Shepardson and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh, Costas Pitas, Dawn Chmielewski, Rollo Ross and Ismail Shakil; Writing by David Shepardson and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast.)
