ABC suspended the infamous Jimmy Kimmel show from September 17 through September 23, 2025, causing tensions to heighten between the Democratic and Republican parties. In an interview with Kimmel, he claimed that he was preparing for his late night show when ABC called him, proposing that the show be taken off the air. This was in response to a controversial monologue that mentioned Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer. On September 10, right-wing political activist and media personality Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while debating college students at Utah Valley University. This became an extremely controversial and sensitive topic. On the same day of his death, Kimmel sent his condolences to his family and condemned the assassination and gun violence in general.
Jimmy Kimmel, who is among the top talk show personalities, has hosted his show Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003, and has hosted the Oscars four times in his career as a TV personality. In his show, on September 15, Jimmy discussed the event and the reactions to it, saying how Trump’s reaction was not how an “adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend” (BBC). As Disney owns ABC, in response to these statements, they received warnings from Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, along with Trump. They ultimately threatened to revoke the broadcast licenses of ABC affiliated stations if they did not take action against Jimmy Kimmel.
Many argued that Kimmel’s suspension was a threat to free speech. Additionally, many influential people stood up for Kimmel after his show was suspended, including Kamala Harris and Barack Obama, saying that it was not right. When Kimmel shared his plans for the next show before he was suspended, he revealed that he would talk about the backlash he faced from his comments in the episode previously that week. It was then that Disney decided to talk to Jimmy about “taking the temperature down” and suspend the show.
After roughly a week off the air, Jimmy Kimmel expressed a strong desire to return to the show to communicate what he was trying to say after his comments were misinterpreted. Disney and ABC’s decision to let him back on the air is influenced by criticism from the public and industry groups, and the possibility of losing customers and business. Now that Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air, he acknowledged his mistakes and made it clear that he never had any negative intentions, and thanked Disney for allowing him to return on the air.
