Why was Jimmy Kimmel’s show suspended? Donald Trump explains reason
US President Donald Trump on Thursday defended ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show over his remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk, saying that the move was motivated by “bad ratings”, not free speech.
Jimmy Kimmel had on his Monday’s episode accused Republicans of using Kirk’s death to criticise their opponents.(AP)
During a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump said, “Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”
He said that Kimmel is “not a talented person”. Trump added, “He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago. So, you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.”
The US President was responding to a question about whether free speech was more under attack in the US and the UK.
Walt Disney Co.’s ABC network said it was taking Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air indefinitely after a backlash from conservatives over the late-night host’s remarks about Charlie Kirk.
On Monday’s episode of his late-night show, Kimmel accused Republicans of using Kirk’s death to criticise their opponents. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” he said.
Disney said that the decision to suspend Kimmel’s show came after Nexstar Media Group Inc., which describes itself as the nation’s largest local television and owns dozens of ABC TV affiliates, said it would pull the show indefinitely from its stations over remarks it cast as “offensive and insensitive”.
Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, told podcast host Benny Johnson that he had a strong case to punish Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney. The FCC grants licences to broadcasters such as ABC and its affiliates.
Trump has had a broader conflict with media organisations whose coverage he has not liked. Last year, ABC agreed to settle at $15 million in a defamation suit brought by Trump over comments made by host George Stephanopoulos.
Meanwhile, Kimmel was reportedly pissed over ABC’s decision to suspend him and the show. He is actively looking for ways to get out of his contract.
Conservative leader and founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot in the neck on September 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. His assassin, Tyler Robinson, is currently in custody and is charged with aggravated murder, among a total of seven charges.
(with inputs from Bloomberg)
