‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ pulled off air over Charlie Kirk comments; ‘Congratulations,’ says Trump
Jimmy Kimmel Live pulled off air: Donald Trump says after Stephen Colbert and Kimmel, it is Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers' turn.
- Sep 18, 2025,
- Updated Sep 18, 2025 8:40 AM IST
Walt Disney-owned ABC announced that it was pulling ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ off air over the popular show host’s comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This comes amid US President Donald Trump’s relentless pressure on broadcasters to stop airing content that he found objectionable.
"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, and called on Comcast-owned NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next. “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!” he said.
This comes days after CBS announced that they would be ending the ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ in May 2026. “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel,” Trump had said after Colbert’s dismissal after being on air for 33 years.
WHY DID JIMMY KIMMEL SAY
Talking about Kirk’s assassination on September 10, Kimmel said, "We hit some new lows over the weekend with 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.” He also criticised Trump's mourning of Kirk, pointing to a video of Trump's comments on the White House lawn. "This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish," Kimmel said.
Trump had called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to pull licenses from stations over content he found objectionable. On Wednesday, the FCC Chair Brendan Carr then urged local broadcasters to stop airing the show. He suggested the commission could open an investigation and that broadcasters could potentially be fined or lose their licenses if there was a pattern of distorted comment.
Carr called it a “very, very serious issue right now for Disney”. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said in a podcast interview with conservative Benny Johnson.
Ben Stiller, commenting on Kimmel’s ouster said, “This isn’t right.” California Governer Gavin Newsom said, “Buying and controlling media platforms. Firing commentators. Canceling shows. These aren’t coincidences. It’s coordinated. And it’s dangerous. The @GOP does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”
“Please, take it from me, it is very important to have Jimmy Kimmel‘s back right now. Be vocal. Be an ideological consumer. Money is all their crowd cares about,” said comedian and actress Kathy Griffin who was “cancelled” after she posted a controversial photo of Trump.
Walt Disney-owned ABC announced that it was pulling ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ off air over the popular show host’s comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This comes amid US President Donald Trump’s relentless pressure on broadcasters to stop airing content that he found objectionable.
"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, and called on Comcast-owned NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next. “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!” he said.
This comes days after CBS announced that they would be ending the ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ in May 2026. “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel,” Trump had said after Colbert’s dismissal after being on air for 33 years.
WHY DID JIMMY KIMMEL SAY
Talking about Kirk’s assassination on September 10, Kimmel said, "We hit some new lows over the weekend with 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.” He also criticised Trump's mourning of Kirk, pointing to a video of Trump's comments on the White House lawn. "This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish," Kimmel said.
Trump had called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to pull licenses from stations over content he found objectionable. On Wednesday, the FCC Chair Brendan Carr then urged local broadcasters to stop airing the show. He suggested the commission could open an investigation and that broadcasters could potentially be fined or lose their licenses if there was a pattern of distorted comment.
Carr called it a “very, very serious issue right now for Disney”. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said in a podcast interview with conservative Benny Johnson.
Ben Stiller, commenting on Kimmel’s ouster said, “This isn’t right.” California Governer Gavin Newsom said, “Buying and controlling media platforms. Firing commentators. Canceling shows. These aren’t coincidences. It’s coordinated. And it’s dangerous. The @GOP does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”
“Please, take it from me, it is very important to have Jimmy Kimmel‘s back right now. Be vocal. Be an ideological consumer. Money is all their crowd cares about,” said comedian and actress Kathy Griffin who was “cancelled” after she posted a controversial photo of Trump.