The lights have dimmed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" for now. ABC pulled the popular late-night show off the air "indefinitely" this past Wednesday, September 17th. This sudden halt came after a wave of criticism hit host Jimmy Kimmel for comments he made about the recent murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In the quiet aftermath, Guillermo Rodríguez, Kimmel’s beloved Mexican-born sidekick, was spotted looking quite downcast. Photos shared by the New York Post show Rodríguez, 54, in an alley behind the studio. He wore a simple T-shirt and sneakers, caught looking at his phone before getting into his car and driving away with the windows rolled up. The Post also noted that other crew members soon followed, leaving the parking lot with their equipment.
Kimmel himself, 57, was seen leaving the studio that same Wednesday. NBC 4 Los Angeles caught video of him climbing into the back of a black Chevy Silverado. The waiting truck then whisked him away from the studio lot.
Guillermo Rodríguez joined the show back in 2003. He started as a parking lot security guard, working three jobs at the time. His big break came unexpectedly when he was caught sleeping during work hours.
"When I got this job, I was in the parking lot and I was sleeping in [Dicky Barnett]’s, the announcer’s, car," Rodríguez told People magazine in 2021. "He opened the door and said, ‘What are you doing here?’ I said, ‘I’m trying to sleep, I’m so sorry!’"
Rodríguez continued, "Dicky went straight and told Jimmy, ‘Hey, this guy was sleeping in my car.’ And Jimmy said, ‘We’ve got to put this guy on the show.’"
The reason for the show’s sudden suspension traces back to Monday, September 15th. That’s when Kimmel made comments regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk and his accused killer, Tyler Robinson.
"The MAGA gang is desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything but one of them, and doing everything they can to politically capitalize on it," Kimmel said on his show. "Among the accusations, there was mourning."
Kimmel then showed a video clip of President Donald Trump. In the clip, Trump was talking about building the White House ballroom when asked how he dealt with the death of a friend.
"He’s in the fourth stage of grief: construction," Kimmel joked. "It’s demolition, construction." He added, "That’s not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. That’s how a 4-year-old grieves the death of a goldfish."
Tyler Robinson turned himself in to police earlier this month. Charlie Kirk was tragically shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10th. Robinson faces serious charges, including aggravated capital homicide and felony use of a firearm. He also has several charges for obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and committing a violent crime when a minor was present.
Us Weekly reached out to ABC and Kimmel’s representatives for comments. As of now, neither Rodríguez nor Kimmel has spoken publicly about the show’s suspension.