(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The parent companies of dozens of local ABC affiliates said they will not air Jimmy Kimmel Live!, directly rebuffing Disney’s decision to lift Kimmel’s suspension following his tone-deaf comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Nexstar and Sinclair, which own a quarter of ABC affiliates nationwide, issued separate statements explaining they are still evaluating a potential return of the late-night show, but demanded assurances for respectful content first.
Nexstar said Tuesday it stood by its initial decision to preempt the show following Kimmel’s “ill-timed and insensitive” remark.
“We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve,” the company said.
Similarly, Sinclair on Monday said that the show would continue to be preempted with new programming, adding that discussions with ABC “are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Both companies pulled the program after Kimmel drew widespread condemnation on Sept. 15 after smearing what he called the “MAGA gang” and claiming they were “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Kimmel’s troubling comments, captured first by the Media Research Center, came as the country mourned Charlie Kirk’s Sept. 10 murder by Tyler Robinson during a speech at Utah Valley University.
Jimmy Kimmel claims "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" and "This is not how an adult… pic.twitter.com/KMhnskaYWD
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 16, 2025
Disney quickly pulled the show nationwide after Sinclair and Nexstar refused to air it. The company said Monday it acted “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”
Disney added, “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.”
