The mood is tense behind the scenes at Jimmy Kimmel Live! Employees are feeling left in the dark about their show’s future. It seems they’ve been getting mixed messages about what’s next.
Initially, staff heard the show would only pause for the rest of that week. But then, on Wednesday, September 17, news broke. ABC, the network behind the show, announced an "indefinite" halt. A source close to the show told a prominent news channel that, with these changing updates, "nobody knows what’s really going on."
This sudden decision by ABC didn’t come out of nowhere. It followed public remarks from Brendan Carr, who chairs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Carr voiced concerns about ABC’s broadcast license. These concerns stemmed from comments Jimmy Kimmel made on his show just a couple of days earlier, on Monday, September 15, regarding Charlie Kirk.
On that Monday night, Jimmy Kimmel, 57, discussed Tyler Robinson. Robinson is the suspect accused of murdering Charlie Kirk at an event in Utah on September 10. Kimmel didn’t hold back his thoughts on the situation.
Jimmy Kimmel PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Kimmel stated, "The MAGA gang desperately tries to present this guy who murdered Charlie Kirk as something other than one of them. They go to great lengths to make political capital out of it." He added, "Among the accusations, there was mourning." Kimmel then showed a video of Donald Trump, 79. A reporter asked Trump about Kirk’s death. Trump replied, "I think very well," then quickly changed the subject to his new White House ballroom. Kimmel joked about Trump, "He’s in the fourth stage of grief: construction." He further commented, "That’s not how an adult grieves the death of someone they considered a friend. That’s how a 4-year-old grieves the death of a goldfish. Okay?"
The FCC chairman called Kimmel’s remarks "really sick" on a podcast. He warned, "They have a license granted by us at the FCC. That carries an obligation to operate in the public interest." On Wednesday, as a crowd gathered outside his studio, Kimmel was seen leaving the building.
Jimmy Kimmel Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
After ABC’s announcement, Donald Trump voiced his approval on Truth Social. Trump has often complained about Kimmel and other late-night hosts who criticize him. He wrote, "Good news for America: Jimmy Kimmel’s show, whose ratings are in question, has been canceled." He added, "Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what it had to do. Kimmel has NO talent and his rating is worse than Colbert’s, if that’s even possible. That leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two complete losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are terrible too. Do it, NBC! President DJT."
Meanwhile, many celebrities showed their support for Kimmel. Actress Sophia Bush shared, "The First Amendment no longer exists in America. Fascism is here and it’s chilling." Ben Stiller simply commented, "This is not right." Comedian Wanda Sykes encouraged, "Hey, for those who pray, now is the time to do it. I love you, Jimmy."
However, not everyone stood with Kimmel. NASCAR driver Danica Patrick celebrated the show’s removal. She said, "Human decency is returning, thank God." Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, also weighed in. He discussed the idea of "cancel culture." Portnoy stated, "With Kimmel’s firing, I’m seeing a lot of people talk about the hypocrisy of cancel culture. To me, cancel culture is when people go out of their way to look for old tweets, videos, etc., to find compromising information about someone they dislike, with the goal of getting them fired."