The fallout for Jelly Roll from his decision to unload on President Donald Trump while guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! isn't slowing down. After facing backlash from longtime fans over a series of jokes targeting Trump, the country star has now had an invitation to...
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.
When Jimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC after nearly a week-long suspension, all eyes were on whether he would issue a direct apology for his comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder. The question on everyone’s mind was simple: did Jimmy Kimmel apologize?
The short answer: no—not in the way many were expecting.
The saga over Jimmy Kimmel Live! has already been one of the strangest Hollywood controversies of the year. What began as outrage over a late-night monologue about the killing of Charlie Kirk spiraled into affiliate pushback, union protests, and FCC threats. But according to a bombshell report, the final straw for Disney CEO Bob Iger wasn’t pressure from advertisers or even Disney’s own staff — it was Michael Eisner.
Disney may want to move on from the Jimmy Kimmel scandal, but its two largest affiliate groups aren’t letting it go. Nexstar Media Group has announced that it will join Sinclair Broadcasting in continuing to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! across their ABC affiliates, even after the network formally declared the show’s return on Tuesday night.
The battle over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension has now escalated into a full-on political fight with lawmakers threatening to take action. On Monday, California State Senator Scott Wiener took to X to threaten Sinclair Broadcast Group after the company announced it would continue preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across its ABC affiliates despite Disney’s decision to bring the show back.