TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been pulled by ABC ‘indefinitely’ after his comments on the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
The show was pulled on Wednesday
It was announced on Wednesday, 17 September, that Jimmy Kimmel’s long-running talk show will be pulled off air.
This comes after Kimmel made a few comments on the murder of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk on September 10.
Kimmel claimed some were weaponizing Kirk’s death
Kirk was fatally shot on Wednesday, September 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.
The suspension of Kimmel’s show comes after he mocked the President’s reaction to Kirk’s murder as well as claimed that Donald Trump supporters were weaponizing the activist’s death to ‘score political points’.
What he said on the matter
Kimmel made his comments earlier this week on Monday, September 15 as he spoke about Kirk’s killing and the arrest of the prime suspect Tyler Robinson.
The talk show host also went on to joke about how the President might be taking it.
He claimed Trump supporters were ‘desperate’
On the show that night, Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid [Robinson] who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”
He then went on to mock how Trump was taking it
Kimmel went on, “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism. But on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this…”
Trump was being asked how he’s holding up
The show then cuts to footage of Trump being asked by reporters on how he’s holding up following Kirk’s death, with Trump redirecting the reporters’ attention to the ongoing construction of the new White House ballroom.
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Kimmel continued, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief. Construction. Demolition, construction…”
He compared the President to a 4-year-old
“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend,” Kimmel went on. “This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay? And it didn’t just happen once.”
Kimmel then showed a different video of Trump talking about the White House construction when asked about Kirk, following it up by saying, “There’s something wrong with him.”
This has caused ABC to suspend his show
Since then, ABC has announced the removal of Kimmel’s show, which has been running since 2003, from its schedule for the foreseeable future.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, “Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be preempted indefinitely.”
Nexstar also ‘strongly objects’ Kimmel’s stance
ABC announced the suspension shortly after network operator Nexstar said it would stop airing the talk show. Andrew Alford, the president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, spoke about the matter.
He said, “Mr Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”
