Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: jimmy kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel Suspended by ABC Over Charlie Kirk Comments

After reactions from the FCC and Nexstar over his Charlie Kirk comments, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel has been "pre-empted indefinitely."

Less than 24 hours after ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel addressed the shooting of conservative activist and advisor Charlie Kirk, the network has "pre-empted indefinitely" Jimmy Kimmel Live! (according to reporting from The Hollywood Reporter). The network's decision is the latest headline in what has proven to be a still-evolving story. On Tuesday night, Kimmel had this to say about Tyler Robinson, the suspect who has been charged in Kirk's killing: "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."

Earlier today, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr addressed the matter during an interview with YouTube personality Benny Johnson. "[This] appears to be an action by Jimmy Kimmel to play into the narrative that this was somehow a MAGA or Republican-motivated person. What people don't understand is that the broadcasters … have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest. When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead," Carr said.

Carr continued, "I think you see some lashing out from people like Kimmel, who are frankly talentless and are looking for ways to get attention. Their grip on the narrative is slipping. That doesn't mean that it's not still important to hold the public interest standard … We have a rule on the book that interprets the public interest standard that says 'news distortion' is something that is prohibited … the FCC has stepped back from enforcing it … I think it's past time these [affiliates] themselves push back on Comcast and this and say, 'Listen, we're not going to run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out because we're running the possibility of license revocation from the FCC if we continue to run content that ends up being a pattern of news distortion.' So I think again, Disney needs to see some change here."

Shortly after, Nexstar, one of the largest owners of local TV stations in the U.S. (including 28 ABC affiliates in New Orleans, Salt Lake City, and other areas) released a statement saying it would pre-empt the late-night talk show for the immediate future. "Nexstar's owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight's show. Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets."

Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar's broadcasting division, added, "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. Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."

"I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing," Carr responded in a statement to Nexstar's decision. "Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values. I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar's lead."

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