Jimmy Kimmel driving in a law firm building on September 19. Image credit: Getty / Backgrid via Metro
(The Post News) – Jimmy Kimmel was spotted in public for the first time, leaving an office building with a law firm after ABC abruptly pulled his late-night show following his comments on the Charlie Kirk murder case.
The comments were made the host on a Monday episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”. In the opening sequence Kimmel had suggested that US President Trump’s Make America Great Again supporters were attempting to distance Kirk’s alleged killer from the right wing in order to “score political points.”.
The comment caused an uproar in the conservative community and was condemned by Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who also threatened to revoke ABC’S licensing. By Wednesday, September 17, the ABC affiliate Nexstar Media Group had “indefinitely ” removed the show from its channels.
On September 18, it was reported that Kimmel would need to apologise and make a donation to Charlie Kirk’s organisation to get his 23-year-old late-night show back on air. He allegedly refused to comply with the request.
Trump Celebrates the Show Being Pulled Off Air
President Donald Trump applauded ABC on their move and attributed the suspension of the show to low ratings. He said “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.“.
In July, CBS announced it was ending The Late Show with Stephen Colbert due to financial reasons. Colbert, a longtime critic of Trump, questioned the timing, noting that CBS’s parent company, Paramount, needed the Trump administration’s approval to merge with Skydance.
Trump continued to threaten other late-night shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, whom he says are “total losers, on Fake News NBC”. He encouraged NBC to also axe these shows.
Celebrities and Politicians React to Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Many civilians, celebrities and politicians have come out to condemn the move as an attack on public speech bordering on censorship. High-profile supporters of Kimmel and his staff who are suddenly out of work include Former Vice President Kamala Harris, Jimmy Fallon, David Letterman, and Wanda Sykes.
Former President Barack Obama posted on X “After years of complaining the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like”.
Protests have also begun in Hollywood, with 150 demonstrators having gathered in front of Kimmel’s production studio on September 18.
Please share your thoughts, contact Lukhona via email: journalist-lukhona@thepostnews.net
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