An ABC spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely,” but did not give further details. Kimmel’s team has not responded to the decision so far.

One of the country’s largest station operators, Nexstar, said it would not air Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future.” Nexstar said it strongly objects to Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s killing and would replace the program with other shows across its ABC-affiliated channels.

What Kimmel said about Charlie Kirk’s shooter

On Monday night’s monologue, Kimmel suggested that the suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

Kimmel’s remarks sparked outrage in conservative circles.

FCC Chairman’s threats

On Wednesday, Carr told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that Kimmel’s behaviour was “the sickest conduct possible.” He even hinted that the FCC could move to revoke ABC affiliates’ broadcast licenses unless Disney took action.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr said.

In his statement, Carr added that the US broadcasters, including ABC, “have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”

Later that evening, Nexstar issued a statement confirming it would pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the time being. “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform is simply not in the public interest. We have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward respectful, constructive dialogue.”

BREAKING NEWS: Official ABC broadcast affiliate Nexstar is REMOVING Jimmy Kimmel from all 32 of their ABC stations until Disney answers for Kimmel’s despicable attack on Charlie Kirk.

Great job @NXSTMediaGroup. Thank you for standing up for Charlie

HERE: https://t.co/BvLYdTEK8I pic.twitter.com/QuABDoLVLi

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 17, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Kirk, a well-known conservative activist, was shot dead on Sept. 10 at a debate at Utah Valley University. Police arrested the suspected gunman, Tyler Robinson, three days later. He added that the FCC could also use its powers against “news hoaxes,” citing past controversies like Hunter Biden’s laptop, Joe Biden’s health, and the Jussie Smollett case.

Notably, just last week, Kimmel himself urged an end to the political blame game after Kirk’s death, posting on Instagram:  “Can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he wrote on Instagram.

(With Inputs from CNN)