ABC made a quick programming change on Wednesday, September 17, after pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the air.
A rerun of Steve Harvey‘s Celebrity Family Feud aired in place of the late night talk show on Wednesday. The swap came after an ABC spokesperson confirmed to Us Weekly that Jimmy Kimmel‘s show would be “pre-empted indefinitely” following backlash over the comedian’s recent remarks about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel, 57, raised eyebrows on Monday, September 15, while discussing Kirk’s accused killer, Tyler Robinson, in the monologue of his show. Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University.
In his monologue, Kimmel claimed conservatives — including Utah Governor Spencer Cox — had reached “new lows” by assuming Robinson, 22, was affiliated with the far-left.
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“The MAGA Gang [is] 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,” Kimmel said on Monday. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Robinson was charged with capital offense aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm after turning himself in earlier this month. He is also facing multiple counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.
Following the controversial monologue, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr called for Kimmel to apologize and argued a “suspension” from ABC could be considered.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said on The Benny Show on Wednesday. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
According to Variety, the Disney-owned network ultimately decided to remove Kimmel from the air “indefinitely” after Nexstar Media threatened to axe the late night show from its lineup.
Nexstar told the outlet that its “owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight’s show.”
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Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest ABC affiliate group in the country, has also made a decision about what to air in place of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Beginning Friday, September 19, a special honoring Kirk will be shown in Kimmel’s timeslot. A press release stated that the special is being offered to all ABC affiliates across the U.S.
Kimmel has yet to publicly address his show being pulled — Wednesday’s episode would have featured Wanda Sykes, Jay Shetty and chef Christian Petroni — but he previously sent condolences to the Kirk family in the aftermath of the Utah shooting.
“Instead of angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he wrote via Instagram on September 10. “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
