It wasn’t a joke that got Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely yanked from ABC’s schedule Wednesday. Really, it was more of an offhand remark—the kind most casual viewers probably wouldn’t have thought twice about.
During his monologue Monday night, following days of conflicting reports about the political affiliations of Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, Kimmel said this:
“We hit new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”
These are the comments from Monday night that led ABC to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live this afernoon. pic.twitter.com/TzOU3GZ195
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) September 17, 2025
Arguably, Kimmel’s more incendiary comments came afterward, when he went on to roast President Trump for what he described as an odd and inappropriate response to the killing.
Still, it was the “MAGA gang” remark that ricocheted across right-wing media over the next 36 hours. The backlash crescendoed with FCC Chair Brendan Carr condemning Kimmel and ABC during a podcast appearance, threatening FCC intervention and urging the network’s local affiliates to stop carrying the show.
Within hours, two major station groups pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their schedules. ABC quickly followed suit—reportedly just as Kimmel was preparing to address the uproar on Wednesday’s broadcast, planning to clarify his remarks (though notably not apologize for them).
For now, ABC has not fired Kimmel or canceled his show outright, despite one president’s gleeful claims. The network has described his hiatus as “indefinite,” and Kimmel’s future remains uncertain.
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No comment is really necessary. Democracy is dead; Republicans killed it.
To be fair, ABC keeping Kimmel after he demonstrated in front of millions of viewers that he’s not reading any creditable news sources or, worse, just lying, would have left ABC open to some kind of litigation.
You not liking him doesn’t mean he’s lying, you fucking retarded cunt!
I heard Charlie and his actual words. I think many condolence wishers never actually heard him in his own words but were reacting as they felt they were supposed too, at least that is what I think. However I heard him and I say, to put it politely he was not a nice man, so SORRY, Charlie.
Jimmy has a great show. What is happening in this country is absolutely ridiculous. How many times do the people have to cry out “This is a Democracy NOT a DICTATORSHIP!” Those who think you have it so rough in this country pack up your bags move to Russia or one of the many other DICTATORSHIP countries. #47 is trying to change this country. If you don’t see that you must not be paying very close attention. 😥