Disney has announced that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will return to the air after a controversy involving the show’s host, who made inflammatory remarks about the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk. Despite this, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group have decided to continue preempting the show in key markets, extending the backlash over Kimmel’s comments.
The situation has sparked outrage among liberals, who believe Kimmel is being punished for exercising freedom of speech, while conservatives argue that Kimmel’s comments suggesting Kirk’s suspected killer was a MAGA member are outrageous and false. Despite Disney’s effort to bring back the show, not all viewers will be able to watch it on linear television.
Disney owns ABC affiliates in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, where the show is expected to return. However, in markets where Nexstar and Sinclair own the ABC affiliates, the show will be preempted in favor of local news programming. The FCC has also weighed in, with its chair, Brendan Carr, defending the decision of ABC affiliates to pull the show due to Kimmel’s monologue about Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel had previously accused conservatives of trying to pin a left-wing ideology on the suspected assassin of Charlie Kirk, which led to the controversy. The incident has sparked a broader debate over free speech, media responsibility, and the role of late-night television in American politics.