UPDATE: Despite The Walt Disney Company confirming that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will return to air on Tuesday (September 23), Sinclair — the top broadcasting company with the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group — announced it WILL NOT be showing the program on its stations. Sinclair — which previously demanded Jimmy Kimmel apologize and pay donations to Charlie Kirk‘s family and company — announced it will now instead preempt Kimmel’s show and replace it with news programming.
ABC Announces Indefinite Suspension Of Jimmy Kimmel After Jokes About Donald Trump Mourning Fatal Shooting Of Charlie Kirk
On Monday night (September 15), Kimmel shared a monologue referencing Kirk’s shooting. The controversial Conservative commentator was fatally shot in the neck on September 10 during a public speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. Kimmel also shared jokes about how President Donald Trump mourned his dear friend’s death. While joking about Kirk and Trump, Kimmel said:
“We’ve 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, but in between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.
On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which got some criticism. But, on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this. [cuts to video of Donald Trump telling reporters about construction on new White House ballroom after 150 years].
Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. There’s demolition…construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody they call a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish. Okay? And it didn’t just happen once.
By Wednesday (September 17), the world learned that ABC suspended Kimmel’s show “indefinitely” following his remarks. Hours later, President Donald Trump applauded ABC for “canceling” Jimmy Kimmel’s show.
Additionally, Sinclair, the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, claimed it was not enough. Late Wednesday evening, the group called on the FCC and ABC to take additional action, as well Kimmel, personally. The company said it would replace his show with a Charlie Kirk tribute. Sinclair also demanded an apology from Kimmel and urged him to donate to Kirk’s family and his company Turning Point USAVice Chairman Jason Smith said:
“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country. We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”
Disney Announces Return Of Jimmy Kimmel’s Show But Top ABC Affiliate Group Sinclair Refuses To Air It After Demanding Host Apologize And Donate To Charlie Kirk’s Family
By September 19, Variety reported that Jimmy Kimmel and Disney were working to bring his show back. On Monday (September 22), Disney announced the return of Kimmel’s show. While announcing the news to resume Kimmel’s show on Tuesday (September 23), Disney wrote:
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
However, Sinclair, ABC’s top affiliate group, stood on business and announced it was still banning Kimmel from its stations. Shortly after Disney’s resume announcement, Sinclair announced:
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
RELATED: Disney Announces Jimmy Kimmel’s Show Will Resume Tomorrow After His Suspension
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