Source: Robin L Marshall / Getty
On Wednesday, ABC pulled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off air indefinitely over statements he made regarding the shooting death of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk. Media titan Sinclair, which owns several ABC affiliate stations, will replace the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” timeslot with a tribute to Kirk.
Sinclair isn’t just posting a Kirk tribute video, they are also demanding that Kimmel apologize to the Kirk family and make “a meaningful personal donation” to them and Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded that spread his unique brand of conservatism, Variety reports.
Sinclair is one of the largest TV station owners and has been known to be right-leaning. Their announcement came after ABC suspended production of Kimmel’s show.
On Monday, Kimmel suggested during his monologue that Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. “The MAGA Gang (is) 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,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving,” The Associated Press reports.
And this is what got his show pulled off the air.
“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” Sinclair vice chairman Jason Smith said in a statement, Variety reports. “We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”
Sinclair claims that they would “not lift the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability,” the company said in a press release. Even if ABC were to lift the suspension on the show and restart production, “Sinclair intends not to return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to our air until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.”
Kimmel’s show was abruptly suspended after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr issued an obvious threat to ABC and its affiliates that they must act against a comedian, who has made it a mission to clown the president on his show. Carr implied that broadcast licenses could be pulled if action wasn’t taken. Within hours the show was off the air.
“It’s not hard to follow the money trail. Nexstar — one of the affiliate groups that threatened to pull Kimmel’s show, forcing the hand of ABC’s corporate leaders at Disney — is seeking to merge with another station conglomerate, Tegna. It needs the Trump administration’s approval to do so,” CNN reports.
“ABC and its parents could have resisted government efforts to shut down Kimmel’s show on the grounds that the government is using its power to suppress the companies’ First Amendment rights to free speech. But the public arm-twisting by Carr made the cost of such an option perfectly clear.”
See social media’s response to the Kimmel drama below.
