ABC Drops Jimmy Kimmel Live!

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics News

LOS ANGELES — (September 17, 2025) — In a stunning late-night shake-up, ABC has pulled the plug on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “indefinitely” after the host’s explosive remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

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The move followed a scathing announcement from Nexstar Media Group, which owns dozens of ABC affiliates nationwide. Nexstar blasted Kimmel’s commentary as “offensive and insensitive” and declared it would preempt the program across its stations effective immediately.

“Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform…is simply not in the public interest,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.

FCC Warning Heats the Pressure

The firestorm escalated when Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr weighed in, delivering a thinly veiled threat to ABC:

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Companies can take action on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

The statement fueled speculation that the cancellation was about more than programming choices — with political pressure playing a decisive role.

A Pattern of Media Fallout

Kimmel is only the latest late-night casualty in what analysts say is a new era of network capitulation to Trump-era politics. In July, CBS abruptly axed The Late Show with Stephen Colbert just weeks after Paramount, CBS’s parent company, paid Donald Trump $16 million to settle a defamation suit — a deal that conveniently cleared the path for its merger with Skydance.

Nexstar, meanwhile, has a $6.2 billion acquisition of rival TEGNA pending before Carr’s FCC, raising further questions about the timing of its strike against Kimmel. The company also operates NewsNation, a cable network with a reputation for leaning conservative.

What Sparked the Backlash

The controversy stemmed from Kimmel’s Monday broadcast, where he referenced Tyler Robinson — the man charged with Kirk’s killing — and accused him of being a “right-winger” driven by hate. Those remarks, according to Nexstar’s release, were the breaking point.

The Center for American Rights, which has lodged bias complaints in the past against NBC, ABC and CBS, filed on Wednesday a new complaint with the FCC over Kimmel’s comments, writing that “it is no defense to say that Kimmel was engaging in satire or late-night comedy rather than traditional news.”

JRL CHARTS reached out to Kimmel’s representatives for comment but have not yet released a statement.

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