“Image Credit: Disney Shortly after Jimmy Kimmel made a comment related to the shooting of late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, ABC (a Disney affiliate) pulled his late-night television show off the air “indefinitely,” according to a September 17, 2025, statement from a representative. So, was he actually fired and is his show canceled?”, — write: hollywoodlife.com
Image Credit: Disney Shortly after Jimmy Kimmel made a comment related to the shooting of late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, ABC (a Disney affiliate) pulled his late-night television show off the air “indefinitely,” according to a September 17, 2025, statement from a representative. So, was he actually fired and is his show canceled?
“Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be pre-empted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson said. Per CNN, the rep declined to share further details.
The news came on the heels of fellow late-night comedian Stephen Colbert‘s cancelation, which was confirmed by CBS this past summer. Colbert’s show ended up winning an Emmy Award.
Below, find out what Kimmel’s “indefinite” hiatus means for him and his show.
Was Jimmy Kimmel Fired by ABC? No, Kimmel was not fired, but an “indefinite” break from ABC sparked rumors of a cancelation. Less than a week later, though, a spokesperson for ABC confirmed that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return on September 23, 2025.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” the statement read, per Deadline. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Nexstar, an ABC-affiliated station, said it would not broadcast Kimmel’s show for the “foreseeable future,” per CNN, adding that 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.”
Jimmy Kimmel’s full comments on Charlie Kirk which led to his show being taken off air indefinitely. pic.twitter.com/Ctg7LL8HWL
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 18, 2025
What Does ABC Mean by ‘Pre-Empted Indefinitely’ for Kimmel? ABC declined to elaborate any further on the matter, but a spokesperson said Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be “pre-empted indefinitely,” meaning that the late-night show has been stalled from airing for now.
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say About Charlie Kirk? His Comments Kimmel actually condemned the shooting of Kirk, which took place at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” Kimmel wrote on Instagram after Kirk died. “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say About Tyler Robinson? After Tyler Robinson was named the primary suspect in Kirk’s murder, Kimmel said, “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. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Why Was Jimmy Kimmel Suspended by ABC? Kimmel was suspended because of his comments related to Robinson, Kirk’s suspected shooter. Brendan Carr, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, criticized Kimmel on Benny Johnson’s show.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “Disney needs to see some change here, but the individual licensed stations that are taking their content, it’s time for them to step up and say this, you know, garbage to the extent that that’s what comes down the pipe in the future isn’t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities. … There’s calls for Kimmel to be fired. I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this.”