Nexstar Media Group announced on Tuesday that it will not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its ABC stations, citing Kimmel’s inaccurate claim that Charlie Kirk was murdered by a MAGA supporter.
Just one day prior, Sinclair Broadcast Group revealed it would also preempt the late-night show, despite Disney reinstating Kimmel’s program. This means that ABC’s two largest station owners, responsible for dozens of local affiliates, will not broadcast his return to the airwaves on Tuesday.
“We made the decision last week to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! after what ABC described as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments during a critical moment in national discourse,” Nexstar said in a statement.
“We stand by this decision, pending assurances that all parties are committed to fostering respectful and constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”
Sinclair, which operates the largest group of ABC affiliates, announced on Monday that it would likewise keep Kimmel off the air.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replace it with news programming,” the company stated on X.
Meanwhile, a member of Kimmel’s reduced staff expressed doubts about whether his late-night show will ever return to the air. Speaking anonymously, the staffer criticized former President Donald Trump and “MAGA supporters” for Kimmel’s removal after he inaccurately claimed the suspect who killed Charlie Kirk was aligned with Trump.
ABC had suspended Kimmel’s show “indefinitely” due to the misleading and tone-deaf remarks. The staffer noted that the future of the show remains uncertain.
“I want to believe it could return. But I can’t imagine a scenario where that happens. Even if Jimmy publicly apologized and made donations to the conservative group demanding it, MAGA supporters would never be satisfied. It would never be enough,” they told Rick Ellis for his Too Much TV newsletter.
Kimmel has been off the air since Wednesday, when Disney executives pulled the plug.
“And Disney will weigh the situation and likely decide it’s cheaper to buy out the rest of his contract and replace the show with reruns of Modern Family and Judge Judy. They’ll convince themselves the worst is behind them — until a few days later, when they have to defend Whoopi Goldberg and the other women of The View. No one wants to be in that position,” the staffer added.
On his show, Kimmel remarked, “We hit new lows over the weekend with the MAGA crowd desperately trying to paint this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, doing everything they can to score political points.”
Disney co-chair Dana Walden reportedly informed Kimmel that his show was being canceled after he refused to “kowtow” to the MAGA movement by apologizing for his previous comments.
It has been a difficult week for Kimmel.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr stated last week on conservative podcaster Benny Johnson’s show that he is considering an investigation into Kimmel and ABC over the remarks. The comments concerned 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who prosecutors say fatally shot Kirk during a university event in Orem, Utah.
Authorities have noted that Robinson held leftist political views and had no ties to the MAGA movement.
“When you examine Jimmy Kimmel’s conduct, it appears to be among the most disturbing possible,” Carr told Johnson.
“As you’ve noted, there are avenues available to the FCC, so I must be cautious — we could ultimately be called upon to judge some of these claims,” he added.