Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is facing mounting criticism after comments he made on Disney-owned ABC about DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s background as a plumber sparked accusations of elitism—remarks that the comedian later attempted to clarify, but never fully...
It’s not every day that the White House fires a shot across Saturday Night Live’s bow — but that’s exactly what happened this weekend after the NBC comedy opened its new season with an SNL cold open mocking President Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
Late-night television staged an unusual crossover this week as Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert appeared on each other’s shows to publicly commiserate about the crises surrounding their programs. On the surface, it was a moment of solidarity. Dig a little deeper, and the spectacle revealed more about the deflection strategies of late-night hosts than about the state of their shows.
Bill O’Reilly has dropped a bombshell about the real reason Disney restored Jimmy Kimmel to the airwaves. Speaking on NewsNation, O’Reilly said the move had nothing to do with free speech or principles of open debate. Instead, he claims Hollywood talent agencies strong-armed Bob Iger and the Disney leadership team into bringing the late-night host back.
Disney and ABC spent much of this week trying to trumpet the big Jimmy Kimmel return to late-night television (after the host spread misinformation about the Charlie Kirk tragedy) as a ratings comeback story. On paper, the numbers for his first night back looked like a victory: roughly 6.3 million viewers tuned in on September 23rd, marking his strongest performance in over a decade. But the spike didn’t last.
The largest affiliate blackout in modern television history has come to an end. Nexstar Media Group, the final holdout in a weeks-long revolt against Jimmy Kimmel Live!, has announced it will restore the late-night program to its ABC stations nationwide. The decision follows Sinclair Broadcasting’s earlier retreat, leaving Disney and Jimmy Kimmel with an unchallenged victory.
Disney/ABC has leverage through its private affiliation contracts (including renewal, termination for breach, and compensation mechanics) in the past, but U.S. rules and long-standing FCC guidance make punitive withholding of other ABC shows a legally risky move.
For weeks, the battle between ABC affiliates and Disney over Jimmy Kimmel Live! has dominated the media landscape. Today, that standoff cracked. Sinclair Broadcasting, one of the largest owners of ABC affiliate stations in the United States, has reversed course and returned Kimmel to the airwaves.
Disney wasted no time blasting out the news: Jimmy Kimmel Live! came back with a ratings bang, drawing 6.3 million viewers for its first episode after suspension. To ABC executives, that number was supposed to send a message — Kimmel still matters. On the surface, it’s an impressive total, especially given the fact that major affiliate groups Nexstar and Sinclair continue to preempt his show. Disney’s talking point is clear: if Kimmel can post these numbers while blacked out in dozens of markets, then he must be indispensable to late-night television.
But the reality is more complicated, and far less flattering.
A coalition of Disney shareholders—including activist groups like the American Federation of Teachers and Reporters Without Borders—are demanding internal records from Disney regarding the 6-day suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. They claim there’s a “credible basis” to suspect the company’s board violated its fiduciary duties of loyalty, care, and good faith by pulling the late-night host after his inflammatory false comments about the Charlie Kirk tragedy.
On its face, that sounds serious. Breaching fiduciary duty is the kind of allegation you’d expect in a corporate scandal or a hostile takeover. But applied to Kimmel? The argument collapses under even the slightest scrutiny.
When Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC after his suspension, he stood on stage crying, clarifying, and railing against President Trump and the FCC. But one thing was conspicuously absent: a real apology. And now Nexstar Media Group, one of the largest owners of ABC affiliates in the country, has made its position crystal clear: Kimmel will not be returning to their airwaves any time soon.
Roseanne Barr isn’t pulling punches when it comes to ABC’s decision to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel after his suspension. In a new interview, Barr blasted the network for what she calls a glaring “double standard,” comparing her own cancellation to Kimmel’s slap-on-the-wrist treatment.
On the night Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! after his suspension, he delivered a tearful, defiant monologue. He railed against President Donald Trump, mocked FCC Chair Brendan Carr, and declared that attempts to silence him amounted to censorship and an assault on free speech. But there was a glaring omission in this Jimmy Kimmel free speech sermon — the biggest censorship bombshell of the year had dropped the very same day, and he said nothing about it.