Disney pulls Jimmy Kimmel’s show after remarks on Charlie Kirk

On Wednesday, Disney, ABC's parent company, pulled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s TV show from ABC indefinitely following recent on-air comments from Kimmel about the Charlie Kirk assassination.

• In the Monday night broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host said “the MAGA gang (is) 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.”
• He later added that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk,” among other comments critical of Republican officials’ reaction to Kirk’s death.

Disney’s move to pull Kimmel’s show came hours after Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called the late-night host’s comments “truly sick,” and said that his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC, and Disney accountable for spreading misinformation that Kirk’s assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter.

• “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said on the Benny Johnson podcast.
• “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Nexstar, the owner of 32 ABC affiliate stations, also denounced Kimmel’s Kirk take and said it would replace his show with other content. Another ABC affiliate station operator, Sinclair, also said it wouldn’t air Kimmel’s show, even if it is reinstated, until ABC donates to Kirk’s organization.

But the FCC’s role in approving industry mergers might’ve played a part in the TV giants’ decisions, according to industry analysts:

• Nexstar will need the FCC to greenlight its $6.2 billion planned merger with broadcaster Tegna.
• ABC’s parent company, Disney, is also looking for FCC approval for its subsidiary ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network.

It’s part of a broader trend

Disney pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from air is the latest example of employers across the US firing workers who are perceived as celebrating Kirk’s death—efforts which have been bolstered by an online campaign from conservative officials, including VP JD Vance and President Trump.

• MSNBC fired analyst Matthew Dowd after he said on-air that you can’t say “awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place.”
• Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah said she was fired for posts about gun control and race, which included Kirk’s 2023 quote accusing several prominent Black women of “steal[ing] a white person’s slot.”
• Employees at major law firms, airlines, financial giants, professional sports teams, and even the Secret Service have also been fired or suspended for their public commentary about Kirk.

But Kimmel’s firing in particular has drawn pushback. While US free speech laws don’t extend to private employers, several prominent Democrats have accused Republican lawmakers of overreaching when it comes to getting Kimmel’s show pulled off air.

• Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said: “An inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control,” referring to Carr’s threats against ABC on Wednesday.
• She also accused the Trump admin of “increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression.”

Looking ahead…While no return date for Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been set, Disney reportedly sees a path to the show potentially going back on air in the next several days.

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