Liputan6.com, Jakarta ABC television network surprisingly announced the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, effective September 17, 2025.
This drastic decision was made after host Jimmy Kimmel made controversial comments about the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
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The controversial statements came in his opening monologue when the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" host criticized supporters of President Donald Trump following the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man charged with Kirk's murder.
ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Cancellation
On September 17, 2025, ABC officially announced the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Nexstar Media, one of the largest local TV station owners in the US with at least 28 ABC affiliates, called Kimmel's comments "offensive and insensitive."
Nexstar Media Group Inc. said it would stop airing the show on its 32 ABC affiliates. It wrote: "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.
Trump administration officials, who are responsible for licensing ABC's local stations, publicly urged the company to punish Kimmel.
Even FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested that the FCC could revoke ABC's affiliate licenses if Disney did not take action against Kimmel.
However, Kimmel's controversial statement also received support, such as from the WGA.
The Writers Guild of America has released a statement on ABC’s decision to pull ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’:
“As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent.”
Jimmy Kimmel's Comment Controversy
The primary trigger for the show's suspension was Jimmy Kimmel's monologue on September 15, 2025.
In the monologue, Kimmel directly criticized supporters of the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement led by former President Donald Trump.
"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," he said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
Furthermore, Kimmel accused Republicans of using Kirk's death to criticize their political opponents.
The comment created a firestorm on social media and became the subject of heated debate, ultimately leading to decisive action by the broadcast network ABC.
Is Jimmy Kimmel Fired?
As of September 17, Kimmel has not been officially fired and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has not been officially canceled.
Jimmy Kimmel's contract with ABC for Jimmy Kimmel Live! was scheduled to expire at the end of the 2025-2026 television season.
In September 2022, Kimmel signed a three-year contract extension that would keep him with the show through that time.
Before to this suspension, Kimmel himself had hinted at the possibility of retiring from the show after his contract expired.
In February 2024, he told the Los Angeles Times that the three-year contract he signed in 2022 would likely be his last.