Jimmy Kimmel pulled off air over Charlie Kirk commentspublished at 14:33 BST
Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York
The abrupt and “indefinite” suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! has sent shockwaves through the US – and has highlighted political divisions.
It started on Monday, when Kimmel made comments on his late-night show about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In his monologue, Kimmel said: “The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Then on Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, went on a conservative podcast and threatened to act against Disney and ABC, the companies that produce and air Kimmel’s show.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” he said.
One of the country’s biggest media companies, Nexstar, then said it was pulling Kimmel’s show from its local stations.
A Disney statement then said that “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely”.
President Donald Trump congratulated ABC for the decision on Truth Social, saying “Kimmel has ZERO talent”.
Now, leading Democrats have blasted the decisions as an assault on free speech.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement alongside other senior leaders in the party, saying Carr “engaged in the corrupt abuse of power. He has disgraced the office he holds
by bullying ABC, the employer of Jimmy Kimmel, and forcing the company to bend
the knee to the Trump”.
Stick with us as we follow the twists and turns of this developing story.