Jimmy Kimmel has exploded in anger after ABC abruptly pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air this week, following his divisive misinformation about the man who allegedly killed Charlie Kirk. According to a bombshell Daily Mail report, insiders describe the late-night host as “absolutely f***ing livid” and determined to sever ties with the network permanently.
ABC Pulls Plug After FCC Pressure
The controversy stems from Kimmel’s Monday night monologue, in which he suggested Kirk’s alleged assassin was affiliated with Trump supporters. Investigators had, prior to Kimmel’s filming, confirmed the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, held far-left sympathies — directly contradicting Kimmel’s claim.
Jimmy Kimmel speaks to Arnold Schwarzenegger on Jimmy Kimmel Live – YouTube, Jimmy Kimmel Live
His remarks quickly drew condemnation. On Wednesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr urged broadcasters to stop airing Kimmel’s show, hinting at a potential investigation. Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting, which own numerous ABC affiliates, also blasted the comments as “offensive and insensitive” before announcing they would stop airing the program.
By Wednesday evening, Disney-owned ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be “pre-empted indefinitely.” The slot was immediately filled with Celebrity Family Feud. Sinclair will air a Charlie Kirk memorial special in the timeslot on Friday.
Kimmel’s Reported Fit Behind the Scenes
The Daily Mail cites unnamed insiders who say Kimmel is enraged, holding crunch meetings with ABC executives and actively seeking ways to break his contract with the network.
One source claimed: “Jimmy is p***ed over the decision to suspend him and the show and he isn’t going to take this lightly, as he is actively looking for ways to get out of his contract. This is the last straw and Jimmy is now looking to forever break his relationship with ABC forever.”
Jimmy Kimmel reading tweets from President Trump at The Oscars – YouTube, New York Post
Another producer painted a bleak picture of the show’s staff in limbo.
“We’re shut down indefinitely,” they said. “We’re all here and basically wandering around like aimless cows. Jimmy is beside himself. I’ve never seen him this angry.”
The report even suggests Kimmel could team up with fellow ousted host Stephen Colbert, whose Late Show was cancelled earlier this summer and will take its final bow in 2026.
Celebrity and Political Fallout
The fallout has triggered a firestorm across political and entertainment circles.
President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social, calling Kimmel a man of “zero talent” and congratulating ABC for “finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
U.S. President Donald Trump sits for an interview with ABC News – YouTube, ABC News
Actor Ben Stiller, however, defended Kimmel on social media, writing: “This isn’t right.”
MSNBC host Chris Hayes accused the FCC of engaging in censorship, claiming: “This is the most straightforward attack on free speech from state actors I’ve ever seen in my life.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom went further, blaming Republicans for “censoring you in real time.”
The FCC has stopped short of confirming formal action against Kimmel but has signaled an apology would be the “minimal step” expected.
A Career at a Crossroads
Kimmel’s career, once defined by comedy and celebrity interviews, has increasingly shifted toward partisan political commentary. Ratings for all late-night shows have cratered in recent years, leaving networks to question whether the enormous salaries of hosts like Kimmel, Colbert, and Fallon are sustainable in the streaming era.
Jimmy Kimmel in a promo ad for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
For now, Kimmel’s future at ABC appears uncertain. Insiders say he may never return, while his allies in Hollywood are preparing to rally on his behalf. Whether the controversy cements his exit from late-night television or sparks a new media venture remains to be seen.
Do you think Jimmy Kimmel will have a future with ABC? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Either he doesn’t go anywhere and the ratings continue to fall as ABC wastes money keeping him on or he’s tossed aside and the demons of follywood rage and scream and tank their own careers as well. It’s a win-win as far as I’m concerned.
I just had a vision.
Out of all of this, will come the announcement like a Phoenix from the ashes, that Adam Corolla has been given a late night talk show.
Secondly, somehow, all of this leaves kimmy penniless and destitute. The only job the blacklisted putz can get is one eerily similar to Guillermo, but on Corolla’s show. The one caveat is that he must maintain a “bozo” haircut. Completely bald on top but full and bushy on the sides and back. Of course he’s ridiculed the entire program by Corolla, guests, the audience. Anybody who happens by the studio.
All of the armchair lawyers on social media claiming this is an asault on “freedom of speech” make me weep for our future and pray we somehow get civics courses back into middle school taught by ACTUAL teachers who want to teach the truth and not their own political crap.
Freedom of speech protects you from repercussions by THE GOVERNMENT, not your employer. No one has stopped him from saying anything he wants to say. He can go on social media or a street corner and continue to spout his propagandist lies all he wants.
When it affects HIS EMPLOYER’S BOTTOM LINE, he gets to suffer the consequences. ‘Bout damn time consequences made a come back
They know this because that is exactly what they’ve been saying for years. They’re just manipulators who can’t be trusted.
Remind me: who kept saying for years that freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences? Now that the political and societal landscape has shifted all of a sudden it’s a problem, huh? Your own medicine don’t taste so good now, does it?
I’m a free speech absolutist, and agree with the SCOTUS’s previous rulings that there’s no such thing as hate speech, and you can say whatever you want provided it isn’t a direct call to violence or inciting a riot. That said, with the amount of information out there, we need to have a system in place to push back against liars and idiots spouting off. I firmly believe the government needs to pass a law mandating that every website and social media platform have an open comments section with a Community Notes feature like on X/Twitter, so that blatant lies like Kimmel’s can be addressed by the public. And yes, I realize he was on TV and that can’t be done on that medium, but more people watched that clip of him on social media than his barely watched late night show.