What to Know About Jimmy Kimmel’s Show Being Suspended

ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show on Wednesday after the television network decided his comments on the fatal shooting of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk had crossed a line.

The decision to pull the program, made under unusual pressure from the Federal Communications Commission, has set off a political firestorm over free speech and the government’s ability to silence commentary it dislikes.

Mr. Kirk was killed on a college campus in Utah on Sept. 10. Since then, President Trump has blamed the “radical left” for rhetoric that led to the death of Mr. Kirk. Known for his outreach with young voters, Mr. Kirk was credited with helping Mr. Trump win the White House.

Mr. Kimmel went after Mr. Trump’s supporters in his Monday program, calling them “the MAGA gang” during his monologue, and suggested the man accused of shooting Mr. Kirk was “one of them.” He also ridiculed Mr. Trump’s response to the tragedy last week, saying he grieved like “a 4-year-old mourning a goldfish.”

The next day, conservative commentators began to disparage the comments. The controversy spread on social media, with figures including Elon Musk condemning Mr. Kimmel’s remarks. Soon the chairman of the F.C.C. warned ABC of serious consequences, including the possibility of pulling broadcast licenses, in the wake of Mr. Kimmel’s monologue. In response, ABC and its parent company, Disney, have temporarily suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” prompting a broader discussion about the First Amendment, political pressure and the future of late-night television.

Here’s how the week unfolded.

What did Kimmel say?

In his monologue Monday night, Mr. Kimmel discussed the politics of the man accused of fatally shooting Mr. Kirk.

“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,” he said.

He then joked about Mr. Trump’s response to a reporter who asked about how he was coping with Mr. Kirk’s death. Mr. Trump said he was doing “very good” and then quickly shifted to discussing a new $200 million ballroom being added to the White House.

“Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction,” Mr. Kimmel said. “Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend; this is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

How it became an issue

The backlash against Mr. Kimmel started Tuesday morning on X after a user posted a clip of the show’s opening remarks.

Conservative influencers and media figures drew attention to the monologue throughout the day, saying Mr. Kimmel mischaracterized the political beliefs of the accused shooter, Tyler Robinson. According to prosecutors, Mr. Robinson had written that he objected to Mr. Kirk’s “hatred,” but authorities haven’t said which of Mr. Kirk’s views he was referring to. His mother told prosecutors that he had recently become more left-leaning and “pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.”

Fox News hosts also discussed the clip on the same evening. Things escalated when Mr. Musk, the owner of the social media platform X and whose account has millions of followers, called Mr. Kimmel “disgusting” for the comments.

On Wednesday Brendan Carr, the chairman of the F.C.C., publicly condemned Mr. Kimmel’s remarks as “truly sick” and hinted at possible regulatory action against ABC. Speaking on a right-wing podcast, he warned that the network could “do this the easy or hard way,” signaling serious consequences if it didn’t respond.

Later in the day, pressure came from Nexstar, which owns 32 ABC affiliate stations. The company announced it would pull Mr. Kimmel’s show from its stations indefinitely. Nexstar said the offensive comment made airing the monologue no longer in the “public interest.”

The mix of forces made the issue impossible for ABC and Disney to ignore.

What did ABC and Disney do?

For Disney’s chief executive, Robert Iger, and Dana Walden, the company’s head of television, the situation became a high-stakes balancing act. Mr. Kimmel had planned to address the growing furor in Wednesday night’s monologue, but Disney’s leadership feared it would inflame tensions amid escalating regulatory threats and affiliate boycotts.

Advertisers were also growing wary, and employees were receiving threatening messages. Facing these risks, as the audience was about to start filing into Mr. Kimmel’s Hollywood studio to tape Wednesday’s program, Disney chose to suspend the show indefinitely.

Although “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is suspended, that doesn’t mean Mr. Kimmel has been fired or that the show has been canceled. Mr. Kimmel’s contract with ABC and Disney runs until next May.

Has Mr. Kimmel responded?

Mr. Kimmel has yet to comment since the show was suspended.

What did other late-night hosts say?

Mr. Kimmel’s suspension sparked a wave of support and outrage among his late-night peers. Stephen Colbert, the host of “The Late Show," which CBS announced it was canceling in July, said ABC’s decision was “blatant censorship.” Jon Stewart, on his show, mocked the censorship, and lampooned government control of media.

Will Kimmel be back?

Network executives said on Thursday they were hopeful to find a way for Mr. Kimmel to return to television soon.

Some social media users speculate that Mr. Kimmel may return after issuing an apology, but others warned that political and corporate pressures may make resuming the show difficult.