Late night host Jimmy Kimmel pulled from broadcast after remarks directed at Charlie Kirk spark backlash

Disney and ABC have started facing backlash on social media after allegedly insensitive comments by Jimmy Kimmel went viral, where he called out Charlie Kirk’s assassin to be a ‘’part of the MAGA Gang.’’ 

As the controversy started to erupt, Nexstar Media Group, which oversees numerous ABC affiliates, decided to "indefinitely suspend" late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel's long-running show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!

According to the BBC, the announcement to stop airing the show was confirmed on Wednesday when a spokesperson for the Disney-owned network said in a statement that "Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely."

President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, Andrew Alford, believes that Kimmel’s words were “offensive and insensitive.’’

He said,

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.’’

President Donald Trump even praised the move to cancel the show, and he, who often faces criticism from Kimmel, posted on his social media site, Truth Social:

"Great 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. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.’’

The controversial remarks by Jimmy Kimmel have led to the suspension of his show

Jimmy Kimmel brought up the topic of Charlie Kirk’s murder, and the veteran late-night comic made some insensitive comments during his monologue, which sparked backlash on the internet. He said, 

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Further, he commented on how Trump reacted to the news of his prominent ally, Kirk’s death, and said that it “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend, and this is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?” 

He even criticized the FBI chief, Kash Patel, and blamed him for handling a murder investigation ‘’like a kid who didn't read the book, BS'ing his way through an oral report.”

Kimmel has often spoken out against Trump and regularly uses his late-night show to make jokes or comments about the president and his supporters. 

Following the suspension of his show, Trump even targeted Jimmy Fallon and Seth Mayors by calling them  “two total losers.”

He believes that these two late-night hosts should be canceled as well. 

Jimmy Kimmel has not commented yet on the decision by ABC to stop airing the show. 

White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich stepped into the controversy, and his post on X read, 

“Welcome to Consequence Culture. Normal, common sense Americans are no longer taking the bull**t, and companies like ABC are finally willing to do the right and reasonable thing."

'Boycott ABC' and 'Boycott Disney' were trending on social media

Charlie Kirk was shot last week during an event at Utah Valley University, and Tyler Robinsion (22 years old) has been charged with the murder.

The reason for targeting Kirk was later revealed during the investigation, where he said that he had ‘’enough of his hatred.”

Over this news, Jimmy Kimmel's remarks during the show went viral, which led users to believe that it's time to boycott ABC by starting to cancel their subscription.

As per the reports by Hindustan Times, one comment read, 

"ABC is now a fascist organization. Boycott everything affiliated with ABC and Disney."

Another user wrote, 

“Time to boycott ABC. Good thing there’s a hundred other channels to watch.’’

Another person wrote, 

“BOYCOTT ALERT! Disney/ABC just caved & pulled Jimmy Kimmel for political reasons. Nexstar — which owns The CW + 200+ local ABC, NBC, CBS & FOX stations — is part of the same machine. 💥 Boycott Disney. Boycott Nexstar. Boycott their advertisers. Hit them where it hurts: the $$$.’’