LOS ANGELES—Late night television host Jimmy Kimmel is returning to the air Tuesday, September 23, after a week-long suspension, calls for public boycotts of the Walt Disney Company (who own the Jimmy Kimmel Live’s network, ABC), and debates on free speech.
Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Kimmel’s show was “indefinitely suspended” last week when the Emmy Award-winning comedian made a controversial comment on the alleged killer of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk during his opening monologue on Monday, September 15, 2025.
“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,” said Kimmel.
Jimmy Kimmel canceled!
Did you know he falsely said it was a MAGA man who assassinated Charlie Kirk 😳? Check out the clip
Guess he thought there would be no ramifications. Let's hope Accountability is coming back finally pic.twitter.com/2lX1PJQCLr
The political leanings of Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, have not yet been made public by the FBI despite President Trump’s claims he is a “radicalized coldblooded killer.” While Robinson appeared to have grown up in a conservative, MAGA Republican, household his mother has said he has grown “more political” and had “started to lean more left” recently.
Following Kimmel’s comments, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, a 2017 Trump appointee, on the day of the suspension of Kimmel’s show stated on Benny Johnson’s The Benny Show, “They [the broadcasters] have a license granted by us at the FCC and that come with an obligation to operate with in the public interest…But frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find way to change conduct; to change action, frankly on Kimmel.”
This is what got Kimmel fired. Right here. Watch.
It’s called soft power. The Left uses it all the time. Thanks to President Trump, the Right has learned how to wield power as well.
Carr later told Johnson on his podcast that Kimmel’s comments were “some of the sickest conduct possible,” adding that it was part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people.”
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) sharply criticized FCC Chairman Carr’s public remakes, calling them “unbelievably dangerous” and “dangerous as hell” for free speech. He likened Carr’s perceived threat to pull ABC’s broadcasting licenses akin to a mobster shakedown, saying, “I gotta say, that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it.’”
Carr wrote a chapter in Project 2025, a plan developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation. In that chapter he calls for terminating funding for PBS and NPR. He has also threatened investigations and federal funding cuts against several media companies which he perceived do not align with the America First agenda.
Back in July, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, shortly after its parent company the Paramount Company paid President Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit regarding editing a 60-Minutes interview with him and Kamala Harris, earlier this year. CBS announced the cancelation just days after Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe.”
Shortly after Colbert’s cancellation, President Trump took to his Truth Social on July 18 to post, “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
President Trump’s post to Truth Social on Stephen Colbert.
When ABC announced the “indefinite suspension” of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, President Trump applauded the decision writing:
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. 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!!!”
"Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to @ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done…" – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/Vhj6DQSssu— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 18, 2025
FCC Chair Carr echoed Trump’s comments that Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension was related to his ratings.
Though Kimmel’s ratings are, in fact, steadily decreasing since his show’s 2015 average (1.77 million viewers compared to 2015’s 2.4 million views, a 37% decline from 2015 total viewership) experts attribute this to media consumer trends rather than a dip in Kimmel’s popularity. According to Forbes, Kimmel still ranks number one among late night talk show hosts in the age category of 18-49 (which is a key advertising demographic).
Following ABC’s suspension of Kimmel’s show, there were calls to cancel Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN subscriptions (all of which the Walt Disney Company own) in protest of, what many considered, an attack on free speech. While the exact number of cancelled subscriptions have not been made public by Disney, the International Business Times estimated the company experienced losses close to $1.5 billion.
Disney stock from September 17 (day of Kimmel cancellation) through September 22, 2025, an estimated valuation drop of approximately $6.4 billion.
Disney announced Monday, September 22, that it would be returning Kimmel’s show to air on Tuesday.
“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,” Disney issued in a statement.
In a personal capacity, Kimmel, like all other American citizens, free speech is protected under the First Amendment. This amendment prohibits government from directly censoring criticism and protects comedians who use satire and parody as a tool for social commentary. However, the first amendment does not protect an individual person against private employer’s actions, if an employer believes a comment goes against the company’s code of ethics, or may hurt the corporate brand. Private companies, in this case network television stations, do reserve the right to terminate an employee, However, it is unknown if Kimmel was in material breach of his contract when the decision to suspend the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show was announced.
After Disney announced that it was returning “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back starting September 23, it was announced by both broadcasting companies Sinclair and Nexstar that they will “preempt” the show with other programming.
The statement from Nexstar read: “We made a decision last week to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve. In the meantime, we note that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”
Nexstar owns America’s largest local television broadcasting group comprised of top network affiliates, with more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets reaching 220 million people. Sinclair Broadcast Group operates 38 local ABC affiliates.
Currently between 73 to 78 ABC affiliates throughout the U.S. will not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! including KATU and KOMO4. There are approximately 210 Nielsen-designated market areas throughout the US.
Back in April of 2023, Kimmel praised Fox News’ decision to axe Tucker Carlson saying, “What a shock, what an absolutely delightful shock this is… Sadly he is not done poisoning old people’s brains…. Will he crawl back up satan’s fiery b-hole, we don’t know…[he is] one of the most despicable mother-tuckers ever to appear on American television.”
Network television has a long history of “parting ways” with TV personalities for their statements.
On September 17, 2001—just six days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks—Bill Maher hosted an episode of his ABC late-night show Politically Incorrect. During a discussion about remarks from evangelist Jerry Falwell blaming the attacks on America’s moral failings (including abortion and homosexuality), Maher pushed back and said of the hijackers: “They weren’t cowards.” He elaborated that the U.S. had been “the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly.”
The comment ignited immediate backlash, with critics accusing Maher of sympathizing with terrorists and undermining American resolve in a time of national grief. Major advertisers, including Sears, FedEx, and United Airlines, quickly pulled their ads from the show.
ABC affiliates faced pressure, and the network issued a statement distancing itself: “We at ABC deeply regret the comments made by Bill Maher… during last night’s broadcast of Politically Incorrect. They in no way reflect the views of ABC.”
Maher issued an apology on September 24, 2001; however, ABC chose not to renew his contract. The final episode of Politically Incorrect aired on ABC on October 11, 2001, after nine seasons.
Below is list of a few other TV personalities who were fired, contract not renewed, or had their show canceled in the last 20 years:
2003: Phil Donahue of the Donahue Show (MSNBC), for expressed strong anti-Iraq War views, criticized as unpatriotic during the lead-up to the invasion.
2007: Don Imus of Imus in the Morning (MSNBC), for referring to Rutgers women’s basketball players as “nappy-headed hos.”
2010: Rick Sanchez of Rick’s List (CNN), for calling Jon Stewart a “bigot” and claimed Jewish people control media.
2013: Paula Deen of Paula’s Home Cooking (Food Network), for admitting in a lawsuit deposition to using the N-word toward Black employees.
2013: Alec Baldwin of Up Late with Alec Baldwin (MSNBC), for yelling a homophobic slur at a paparazzo outside his home.
2017: Kathy Griffin, a New Year’s Eve co-host on CNN, for posting a photo of herself holding a bloodied, severed-head prop resembling the head of Donald J Trump.
2018: Roseanne Barr of the Roseanne Show (ABC), for tweeted a comparison of President Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to an ape and alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
2021: Sharon Osbourne of The Talk (CBS), for defended Piers Morgan’s criticisms of Meghan Markle and expressed fear of being labeled racist for speaking out.
2023: Tucker Carlson of Tucker Carlson Tonight, for conspiratorial statements tied to Dominion lawsuit.
2023: Don Lemon of CNN This Morning, for making sexist remarks off-air about women being “past their prime” in their 30s and 40s.
2025: Matthew Dowd, a political analyst on MSNBC, for suggesting on air that Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric contributed to his own assassination.
2025: Terry Moran, a chief political correspondent for ABC, for posting on X calling Stephen Miller a “world-class hater” in reference to Trump administration policies.
Jimmy Kimmel returns to air Tuesday following Disney boycotts
LOS ANGELES—Late night television host Jimmy Kimmel is returning to the air Tuesday, September 23, after a week-long suspension, calls for public boycotts of the Walt Disney Company (who own the Jimmy Kimmel Live’s network, ABC), and debates on free speech.
Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Kimmel’s show was “indefinitely suspended” last week when the Emmy Award-winning comedian made a controversial comment on the alleged killer of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk during his opening monologue on Monday, September 15, 2025.
“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,” said Kimmel.
The political leanings of Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, have not yet been made public by the FBI despite President Trump’s claims he is a “radicalized coldblooded killer.” While Robinson appeared to have grown up in a conservative, MAGA Republican, household his mother has said he has grown “more political” and had “started to lean more left” recently.
Following Kimmel’s comments, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, a 2017 Trump appointee, on the day of the suspension of Kimmel’s show stated on Benny Johnson’s The Benny Show, “They [the broadcasters] have a license granted by us at the FCC and that come with an obligation to operate with in the public interest…But frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find way to change conduct; to change action, frankly on Kimmel.”
Carr later told Johnson on his podcast that Kimmel’s comments were “some of the sickest conduct possible,” adding that it was part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people.”
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) sharply criticized FCC Chairman Carr’s public remakes, calling them “unbelievably dangerous” and “dangerous as hell” for free speech. He likened Carr’s perceived threat to pull ABC’s broadcasting licenses akin to a mobster shakedown, saying, “I gotta say, that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it.’”
Carr wrote a chapter in Project 2025, a plan developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation. In that chapter he calls for terminating funding for PBS and NPR. He has also threatened investigations and federal funding cuts against several media companies which he perceived do not align with the America First agenda.
Back in July, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, shortly after its parent company the Paramount Company paid President Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit regarding editing a 60-Minutes interview with him and Kamala Harris, earlier this year. CBS announced the cancelation just days after Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe.”
Shortly after Colbert’s cancellation, President Trump took to his Truth Social on July 18 to post, “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
When ABC announced the “indefinite suspension” of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, President Trump applauded the decision writing:
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. 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!!!”
FCC Chair Carr echoed Trump’s comments that Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension was related to his ratings.
Though Kimmel’s ratings are, in fact, steadily decreasing since his show’s 2015 average (1.77 million viewers compared to 2015’s 2.4 million views, a 37% decline from 2015 total viewership) experts attribute this to media consumer trends rather than a dip in Kimmel’s popularity. According to Forbes, Kimmel still ranks number one among late night talk show hosts in the age category of 18-49 (which is a key advertising demographic).
Following ABC’s suspension of Kimmel’s show, there were calls to cancel Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN subscriptions (all of which the Walt Disney Company own) in protest of, what many considered, an attack on free speech. While the exact number of cancelled subscriptions have not been made public by Disney, the International Business Times estimated the company experienced losses close to $1.5 billion.
Disney stock from September 17 (day of Kimmel cancellation) through September 22, 2025, an estimated valuation drop of approximately $6.4 billion.
Disney announced Monday, September 22, that it would be returning Kimmel’s show to air on Tuesday.
“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,” Disney issued in a statement.
In a personal capacity, Kimmel, like all other American citizens, free speech is protected under the First Amendment. This amendment prohibits government from directly censoring criticism and protects comedians who use satire and parody as a tool for social commentary. However, the first amendment does not protect an individual person against private employer’s actions, if an employer believes a comment goes against the company’s code of ethics, or may hurt the corporate brand. Private companies, in this case network television stations, do reserve the right to terminate an employee, However, it is unknown if Kimmel was in material breach of his contract when the decision to suspend the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show was announced.
After Disney announced that it was returning “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back starting September 23, it was announced by both broadcasting companies Sinclair and Nexstar that they will “preempt” the show with other programming.
The statement from Nexstar read: “We made a decision last week to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve. In the meantime, we note that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”
Nexstar owns America’s largest local television broadcasting group comprised of top network affiliates, with more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets reaching 220 million people. Sinclair Broadcast Group operates 38 local ABC affiliates.
Currently between 73 to 78 ABC affiliates throughout the U.S. will not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! including KATU and KOMO4. There are approximately 210 Nielsen-designated market areas throughout the US.
Back in April of 2023, Kimmel praised Fox News’ decision to axe Tucker Carlson saying, “What a shock, what an absolutely delightful shock this is… Sadly he is not done poisoning old people’s brains…. Will he crawl back up satan’s fiery b-hole, we don’t know…[he is] one of the most despicable mother-tuckers ever to appear on American television.”
Network television has a long history of “parting ways” with TV personalities for their statements.
On September 17, 2001—just six days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks—Bill Maher hosted an episode of his ABC late-night show Politically Incorrect. During a discussion about remarks from evangelist Jerry Falwell blaming the attacks on America’s moral failings (including abortion and homosexuality), Maher pushed back and said of the hijackers: “They weren’t cowards.” He elaborated that the U.S. had been “the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly.”
The comment ignited immediate backlash, with critics accusing Maher of sympathizing with terrorists and undermining American resolve in a time of national grief. Major advertisers, including Sears, FedEx, and United Airlines, quickly pulled their ads from the show.
ABC affiliates faced pressure, and the network issued a statement distancing itself: “We at ABC deeply regret the comments made by Bill Maher… during last night’s broadcast of Politically Incorrect. They in no way reflect the views of ABC.”
Maher issued an apology on September 24, 2001; however, ABC chose not to renew his contract. The final episode of Politically Incorrect aired on ABC on October 11, 2001, after nine seasons.
Below is list of a few other TV personalities who were fired, contract not renewed, or had their show canceled in the last 20 years:
Author: Kienan Briscoe
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