Jimmy Kimmel suspended from show after Charlie Kirk comments

The late-night TV host and star has been suspended by the ABC television network for his comments on the killing of Charlie Kirk following pressure from the Trump administration, according to reports.

The suspension of Kimmel – a practising Catholic – which swiftly followed a veiled threat of regulatory action, has raised concerns that US President Donald Trump and his team are attempting to curtail the free speech of their critics, reports the BBC.

In his monologue at the start of his Monday show, Kimmel, 57, said the "MAGA gang" – a reference to Trump's Make America Great Again election slogan – was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them", and was trying to "score political points from it".

Kimmel also likened Donald Trump's reaction to the death of the 31-year-old, who was a political confidant of the US president and supported Trump during his 2024 presidential election campaign, to "how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish".

Brendan Carr, the chair of the FCC – the US media regulator – and who was appointed by Trump, accused Kimmel of "the sickest conduct possible" and said media companies like the Disney-owned ABC should "find ways to change conduct and take action ... or there's going to be additional work for the FCC".

On Thursday, 18 September, Carr told Fox: "We're going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest – and if broadcasters don't like that simple solution, they can turn their licence in to the FCC."

The FCC has regulatory power over major networks, such as ABC, as well as the local stations that carry their content, reports the BBC. Owners of local stations can also influence major networks by refusing to carry shows.

Kimmel's suspension was announced shortly after Nexstar Media, one of the US's largest TV station owners, said it would not air Kimmel's show "for the foreseeable future" due to his remarks having been "offensive and insensitive".

Carr praised Nexstar – which is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2bn (£4.5bn) merger with another media company, Tegna – and said he hoped other broadcasters would follow its lead.

Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the US, said it would air a special remembrance programme dedicated to Kirk during the Jimmy Kimmel Live! time slot on Friday.

Kirk died from a single gunshot that hit him in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University on 10 September. A 22-year-old man has been charged with aggravated murder. Prosecutors say he was "indoctrinated with leftist ideology" and that they will seek the death penalty.

The BBC notes that legal scholars have commented on how the US Constitution's first amendment that protects free speech would prevent the FCC from revoking licences over political disagreements.

The Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild, which are two Hollywood trade unions, condemned the suspension of Kimmel as a violation of constitutional free speech rights. But others have maintained the FCC and ABC acted appropriately, the BBC reports.

"When a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it, that's not cancel culture," said Dave Portnoy, who founded media company Barstool Sports. "That is consequences for your actions."

Jimmy Kimmel, who features in the Catholic Herald's latest "Special US report: Catholics leading the way in Sport and Entertainment in 2025", is the host and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC in January 2003.

In 2018, Time Magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people. He was raised Catholic and, as a child, was an altar server. He is a practising Catholic and has publicly defended his faith and the Church.

"This is blatant censorship," Stephen Colbert, another late-night US TV host – and another Catholic – said on his rival CBS show about Kimmel's suspension.

Photo: Jimmy Kimmel, winner of the Outstanding Host for a Game Show Award for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", attends the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, 7 September 2025. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.)