ABC Yanks ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Over Host’s Remarks About Charlie Kirk’s Killing — Which Weren’t Even About Kirk

President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk’s death, and the MAGA movement have revealed a lot about America as of late. Most of what we’ve learned, we already knew, but there’s one thing being exposed that probably wasn’t even on our radar: the TV world is being run by a bunch of cowards.

On Wednesday, ABC pulled the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show off the air “indefinitely,” all because Kimmel said something controversial about the killing of Kirk, which the media and the internet have proven can’t really be discussed at all without controversy and polarization.

Actually, Kimmel didn’t even say anything negative about Kirk himself; all he did was clock the fact that MAGA Republicans, right-wing media and all the MAGA minions on social media have been “desperate” and all-too eager to paint Kirk’s accused killer, Tyler Robinson, as a “leftist” who killed Kirk because “leftist rhetoric is out of control” — which, of course, is rich coming from people who consistently muse about an new a “civil war” and insist on revealing out loud that they think communism, socialism, Marxism and fascism are all the same “ism” and are all synonymous with leftism. (Also, what Kimmel said was demonstrably true.)

This is literally all Kimmel said to prompt ABC to yank him off the air:

“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 in between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

First of all, where’s the lie? Secondly, how are Kimmel’s remarks offensive to Kirk, or anyone other than MAGA for that matter?

According to CNBC, ABC was pressured by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take this action. FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who, of course, was nominated by Trump for the position, reportedly told right-wing commentator Benny Johnson that Kimmel’s comments were “truly sick,” and said there was a “strong case” for action against ABC and Disney.

“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.

“They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” he added.

From CNBC:

Just before ABC’s announcement, Nexstar Media Group said that its stations that are affiliated with ABC would preempt Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight’s show” because of the host’s statements.

Nexstar is seeking FCC approval for its planned $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.

About 10% of the approximately 225 ABC affiliate stations are owned by Nexstar. Tegna owns about 5% of ABC’s affiliate stations.

So, basically, everybody is doing the MAGA messiah’s bidding, because if they don’t appease the big, rust-orange, 79-year-old toddler in the Oval Office, their bottom lines will be affected. And they all got their coveted stamp of approval via Trump’s social media.

“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,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even [Stephen] 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!!!” 

According to Variety, media company Sinclair is planning to replace the Friday timeslot for Kimmel’s show with a Charlie Kirk tribute special on its ABC affiliate stations and is offering the special to all other ABC stations across the country. Sinclair execs are also demanding that Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family and send “a meaningful personal donation” to them and Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA.

Again — and I’m just going to go ahead and switch to all caps for this — JIMMY KIMMEL DIDN’T EVEN SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK!!!

This is how we know this is all performative political theater that has nothing to do with right or wrong.

Now, CNBC reports it was told by a source “familiar with Kimmel’s situation” that he wasn’t actually fired, and that “Disney brass plans to speak with Kimmel about what he should say when he goes back on the air.” In other words, he might get his show back if he kisses the ring. But would it even be worth it to jump through hoops like this?

Seriously, we all see what’s going on here, right?

A few months ago, CBS announced it was cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a decision the network claimed was “purely a financial decision” and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” by which it likely meant the $16 million settlement it reached with Trump, who, last year, filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the company, claiming the network tried to tip the scales in Harris’ favor during the 2024 presidential race.

This was another instance of a network being cowardly. Here’s what I wrote about that previously:

In truth, CBS aired two versions of an answer Harris gave 60 Minutes after being asked why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not listening” to the United States. Actually, it was a promotional preview of the interview, not the actual interview, which was aired in full, and neither answer given by Harris was so substantial that it would have made any outcome in the race, which Trump ultimately won anyway. CBS could have fought the good fight. Hell, the network could easily have pointed out that during the same month that Trump filed his lawsuit, Fox News aired an edited version of Trump’s performative visit to a Black barbershop in the Bronx. That interview, which aired edited on Fox & Friends, not as a promo, but as the only version of the visit the network aired, was heavily edited in order to make Trump appear to be less of the rambling, lying, scatter-brained, cognitively declined blowhard that we all know him to be.

It’s not just TV either.

Earlier this week, we reported that long-time Washington Post opinion columnist Karen Attiah was fired for telling the truth about Kirk’s bigotry, which, like millions of people across social media, she demonstrated by quoting his own words. MSNBC, which, like the Post, is widely considered to be a left-leaning network, fired political analyst Matthew Dowd last week for his remarks about Kirk’s death, saying that “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”

Again, this isn’t about Kirk; it’s about Trump and the MAGA world leveraging Kirk’s death in order to force the tides of the culture war to turn their way. If the “cancel culture” conservatives claim to hate so much is real, this is exactly what it looks like. Another FCC official even appears to agree.

More from CNBC:

Anna Gomez, an FCC commissioner nominated by President Joe Biden, after Carr’s comments to Johnson tweeted: “An inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship and control.”

“This Administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression,” Gomez wrote.

After ABC pulled Kimmel’s show, Gomez wrote on X, “Free expression is non-negotiable. It marks the line between freedom and oppression. We must defend it without compromise.”

Exactly. These networks and media groups are buckling to stay in a bully’s good graces. It’s shameful and cowardly.

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