ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show off the air “indefinitely,” Page Six can confirm.
“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesperson for the outlet told us on Wednesday.
The decision comes after TV station conglomerate Nexstar Media threatened to pre-empt airings of the program following the comedian’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s death, according to Variety.
Nexstar delivered the message to ABC on Wednesday, saying that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
Prior to the show being pulled, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr threatened to launch an official probe into Kimmel and his show over his recent remarks that Kirk’s alleged killer was a MAGA supporter.
“When you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel, it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible,” Carr noted in his Wednesday appearance on “The Benny Show” podcast, per TMZ.
“There are avenues here for the FCC — so there are some ways in which I need to be a little bit careful because we could be called ultimately to be a judge on some of these claims that come up. But, I don’t think this is an isolated incident.”
“They have license granted by us at the FCC and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” he said, adding that the networks could either take disciplinary actions or the FCC might step in.
Reps for Kimmel did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Kirk died on Sept. 10 after he was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University. Three days later, authorities announced they arrested his suspected killer.
On Monday night’s episode of his eponymous show, Kimmel claimed that the “MAGA gang” was using the conservative pundit’s death as a move to gain political points.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said.
It’s worth noting that Kimmel also responded to the news of Kirk’s death via his social media accounts, offering his condolences to Kirk’s family.
“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” Kimmel wrote at the time.
He continued: “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.”
Carr later thanked Nexstar for “doing the right thing” by taking action against Kimmel with a message shared on social media.
“Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values,” he wrote, adding, “I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar’s lead.”