Kirk, a right-wing influencer known for his strong views on conservative causes and open opposition to gun regulation, was shot and k!lled last Wednesday while giving a speech at Utah Valley University.
Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, has been charged with several crimes, including m*rder, in connection with the crime. If Robinson is found guilty, the prosecutors have already said they will ask for the de@th penalty.
What did Jimmy Kimmel say?
During the Monday night (September 15) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the 57-year-old presenter seemed to hint that Robinson might be a supporter of Trump.
Kimmel said, “The MAGA Gang is desperately trying to make this kid who k!lled Charlie Kirk seem like anything other than one of them, and they’re doing everything they can to get political points from it.”
The president’s friends and officials promptly spoke out against the comment.
The BBC says that FCC commissioner Brendan Carr, who was appointed by Trump, called Kimmel’s segment “the sickest conduct possible” and said he was attempting to make it seem like this was a MAGA or Republican person, according to The Guardian.
On the conservative Benny Show podcast, Carr claimed that broadcasters had a duty to act in the public interest and called on Disney, the parent company of ABC, which airs Kimmel’s show, to take action against him.
He said that an apology was “a very reasonable, minimal step” and that not doing anything could lead to more FCC inquiry.
A lot of these licensed stations should have said a long time ago, “We’re not going to run Kimmel anymore… because we licensed broadcasters are risking fines or losing our licenses from the FCC,” he said.
Kimmel stood by what he said
The next day, Kimmel said again that a lot of people in MAGA-land are working very hard to take advantage of Charlie Kirk’s de@th.
He also blasted Vice President JD Vance, who had been a guest on Kirk’s program. “The president and his henchmen are doing their best to fan the flames so they can attack people on the dangerous left,” he said.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kimmel was going to talk about the issue on Wednesday’s show, but the segment was withdrawn before it could air.
ABC told a number of news outlets that the late-night show will be “pre-empted indefinitely.”
A source close to the matter said that Kimmel has not been fired and that officials plan to talk to him before he goes back on the air.
The insider also said that the host did not plan to say sorry on Wednesday’s show, but he did want to explain what he meant because he thinks it has been misinterpreted.
Some people say it’s censorship and revenge.
Hollywood unions and Democratic politicians are angry over the decision to suspend Kimmel because they say it sets a bad example for free speech.
On X, Democratic Senator Ed Markey said that the FCC was censoring politics: This is censorship at work. The head of the FCC threatens ABC and Disney because of Kimmel’s comments.
He is off the air after a few hours. It is against the law and harmful.
He stated that the message to all media companies is clear: follow the MAGA line or the Federal Censorship Commission will come after you.
Anna Gomez, the only Democratic FCC commissioner, also disagreed with Carr’s views. She said, “An inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be used as an excuse for broader censorship or control.”
The Writers Guild of America said that taking Kimmel off the air was a violation of First Amendment rights: The union added in a statement that anyone in government who ignore this basic principle should be ashamed.
As a Guild, we all agree that we are against anyone who uses their status and influence to suppress writers or anyone else who disagrees with them.
They also said that if free speech just extended to ideas we favor, we wouldn’t have needed to enshrine it into the Constitution.
The judgment was called “the kind of suppression and retaliation that puts everyone’s freedoms at risk” by SAG-AFTRA.
Kimmel is now one of many late-night hosts whose careers are questionable because of political pressure and changing industry realities.
In July, CBS said that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would cease next year. The network said the decision had nothing to do with ratings, content, or anything else going on at Paramount.
Colbert publicly criticized the network, bringing up CBS’s legal deal with Trump and Disney’s separate $16 million defamation payout—both of which were related to politically sensitive interviews done by well-known anchors.
As rumors about Kimmel’s comeback grow, the dispute shows how scary it is that comedy, politics, and broadcast regulation are all coming together in the media environment of 2024.