Jimmy Kimmel #

Introduction #

Jimmy Kimmel is an American television host and comedian, best known as the host and executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which has aired on ABC since 2003. In September 2025 he became the central figure in a free-speech controversy when Disney-owned ABC suspended the show “indefinitely” after comments he made about the arrest in the shooting death of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk. The decision came after the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission expressed ire at the comments and broadcaster Nexstar said it would not air the show. The suspension ended less than a week later when the show returned Sept. 23.

Background Information #

James Christian Kimmel was born November 13, 1967, in Brooklyn, New York City, and grew up in the Mill Basin neighborhood before his family moved to Las Vegas when he was nine. He began working in radio while in high school, landing his first paying job in 1989 as morning drive co-host of “The Me and Him Show” at KZOK-FM in Seattle and later spending five years as “Jimmy The Sports Guy” at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles.

On Comedy Central he co-hosted “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” which began airing in 1997 and earned an Emmy for Best Game Show Host, and from 1999 “The Man Show” with Adam Carolla. In January 2003 he left to host “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC, created as a replacement for “Politically Incorrect.” He has hosted the Emmy Awards three times and the Academy Awards four times and has the longest tenure of any current late-night host, second only to Johnny Carson’s 30 seasons.

His feud with Trump dates to at least 2015, when then-candidate Trump cancelled a scheduled appearance on the show; Kimmel has said he told ABC executives after the 2016 election that if he could not tell Trump jokes he would leave, estimating he lost around half his audience over Trump material. He has also apologized in the past, including in 2013 over a “Kids Table” segment and in 2020 for blackface impersonations on “The Man Show” and racial slurs in a 1996 song.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

In his Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, opening monologue, Kimmel commented on reactions to the killing of Charlie Kirk, saying: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.” He also compared Trump’s reaction to Kirk’s death to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.” Utah prosecutors later charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder, and his mother told police he had “started to lean more to the left” over the past year. Conservative critics said Kimmel was pushing a false narrative by suggesting the suspect was a MAGA Republican, and Utah’s governor had called the suspect “indoctrinated by leftist ideology.”

On Sept. 17, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said on a YouTube show hosted by commentator Benny Johnson: “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” noting calls for Kimmel to be fired. Carr called the monologue comment “some of the sickest conduct possible” and threatened regulatory action against ABC and Disney. Hours later, Nexstar said it would stop airing the show on its 32 ABC affiliates, and ABC halted broadcasts “indefinitely.” The decision was reportedly made by Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney television chief Dana Walden; Kimmel, who had planned to address the reaction on his Sept. 17 show, reportedly felt the remark had been “grossly mischaracterized by a certain group of people.”

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Trump celebrated, posting on Truth Social that the “ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” congratulating ABC “for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” and calling on NBC to cancel Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.

Late-night hosts rallied behind Kimmel. Stephen Colbert said “we are all Jimmy Kimmel” and called the removal a “blatant assault on freedom of speech,” while Seth Meyers called it “a privilege and honour to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend.” Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon ran satirical sketches appearing forced to praise Trump; David Letterman said “It’s managed media. It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous,” and Conan O’Brien wrote on X that the suspension “should disturb everyone on the Right, Left, and Center.” Support ranged from Letterman to former President Barack Obama, and free speech advocates voiced concern over First Amendment rights after the July cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” IATSE, the DGA, the AFM, and SAG-AFTRA issued a joint statement, more than 400 artists signed an ACLU open letter, and Senator Ted Cruz backed Kimmel.

Not everyone agreed: Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said he was not upset, and Piers Morgan said Kimmel had caused “understandable outrage all over America.” CNN reported that Disney employees received death threats after Carr’s remarks, making the affair “a safety issue for employees and the show’s advertisers.”

Current Status #

On Monday, Sept. 22, Disney announced “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return the next day, saying it suspended production “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” that “some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” and that after “thoughtful conversations” with Kimmel it would return the show Tuesday. It returned Sept. 23; Kimmel had not publicly commented since the suspension. Sinclair and Nexstar initially kept preempting the show but ended their boycott Sept. 26; viewership returned to pre-controversy numbers. Colbert’s cancellation, with its final episode scheduled for May 2026, was a separate decision.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The episode was widely described as unprecedented: in its 91-year history, the FCC had routinely reserved its moderation of broadcast TV for lewd or profane content rather than political speech. Entertainment and media law attorney Camron Dowlatshahi called the crackdown “certainly unprecedented,” saying, “We know the president has hated Kimmel and wanted him off the air and now he got his wish.”

For Kimmel personally, the disruption was brief: the show returned within a week with viewership at pre-controversy levels, and he had a three-year ABC contract running through the 2025-26 season. On Christmas Day 2025, he delivered the alternative Christmas message for the U.K.’s Channel 4, addressing his suspension and criticizing President Trump.