ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Live After Comments On Charlie Kirk Assassination

ABC has pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live” off the air following host Jimmy Kimmel’s comments on the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely,” one ABC spokesperson said to CNN.

The move came after a major operator of ABC affiliates, Nexstar, said it would no longer broadcast the program “for the foreseeable future.” The company said 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.”

During his Monday night monologue, Kimmel suggested that Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Kirk, was a Trump supporter and mocked conservatives for rejecting that claim.

“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.”

FCC Chair Brendan Carr also criticized Kimmel’s remarks during an interview Wednesday with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

On Sunday, Utah officials confirmed that Robinson had a “leftist ideology” prior to the broadcast of Kimmel’s comments.

Meanwhile, Sinclair Broadcasting announced it will air a special in remembrance of Charlie Kirk this Friday in the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” timeslot on its ABC stations. The tribute will also run across all Sinclair stations over the weekend and has been offered to every ABC affiliate nationwide.

The Secret Service agent who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination online is expected to be fired, according to multiple reports, after his inflammatory comments drew outrage inside and outside the agency.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was gunned down last Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Prosecutors say Tyler Robinson, 26, climbed to a rooftop overlooking the gathering and shot Kirk with a bolt-action rifle. The conservative activist was rushed away by security but died of his injuries.

In the aftermath, Secret Service agent Anthony Pough posted on social media that Kirk “deserved” his fate. “If you are Mourning this guy… delete me. He spewed hate and racism on his show,” Pough wrote. “You can’t circumvent karma, she doesnt [sic] leave.”

The remarks quickly circulated among fellow agents and shocked many in the protective detail community. “If that’s all it takes to set you off, that’s dangerous to have around,” one veteran agent told RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree, who first reported the comments.

The Secret Service confirmed that Pough has been placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation proceeds. A spokesperson declined to say whether the leave was paid or whether his clearance was suspended, but emphasized that “the agency will not tolerate any behavior that undermines our code of conduct.”

Crabtree later reported that Pough is likely to be dismissed. One insider explained that because he remains in his probationary period, he can be let go more easily than an agent with career status. Pough reportedly joined the Secret Service in 2022. Agents serve a three-year probation plus 120 days.

The agency has strict rules forbidding agents from making partisan or inflammatory statements, even in a personal capacity.

Leadership has long argued that the appearance of political bias is incompatible with the Secret Service’s mission to protect leaders of all parties.