After serving as a prominent figure in liberal America for over 20 years, Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show has been terminated following remarks he made after Charlie Kirk’s passing.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been removed from ABC after a 22-year run, which pleased President Donald Trump, who used social media to express his satisfaction about the 57-year-old’s show being canceled.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump commented.
“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
So, what did Kimmel say that led to the end of his TV career?
Kimmel’s comments came shortly after the assassination of Turning Point co-founder Charlie Kirk at a conservative student event at Utah Valley University on September 10.
Kirk, the father of two, was shot in the neck and died shortly after at a local hospital in Orem, Utah. Tyler Robinson, aged 22, was arrested and charged with Kirk’s murder.
In a Monday episode, Kimmel mocked the death of the political activist by joking about Trump mourning Kirk’s death.
“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. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.” Kimmel said.
“On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.”
The episode then transitioned to a clip of the 79-year-old President being asked about his emotional state following his ‘good friend’s’ death.
“I think very good,” Trump replied during the exchange at the White House green.
Trump proceeded: “And by the way, right there you see all the trucks; they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House. Which is something they’ve been trying to get as you know for about 150 years, and it’s gonna be a beauty, it’ll be an absolutely magnificent structure.
“And I just see all the trucks, they just started, so it’ll get done, uh, very nicely and it’ll be one of the best anywhere in the world, actually.”
After the clip, the broadcast returned to Kimmel.
“Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief, construction,” Kimmel joked.
“Demolition, construction,” Kimmel added. “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?”
Following Kimmel’s dismissal, Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division associated with ABC, criticized Kimmel’s comments.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Alford stated to People.
Alford further stated: “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”