After 22 years on the air, Jimmy Kimmel’s eponymous Jimmy Kimmel Live! was abruptly pulled from broadcast in September 2025.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesperson for ABC told Us Weekly in a statement at the time.
Kimmel did not immediately address the show’s abrupt pause, which included recently taped episodes being shelved.
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Jimmy Kimmel Live! being pulled from the network’s lineup:
Why Was ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Pulled From ABC?
Variety reported that ABC, which is owned by Disney, decided to pull the show after Nexstar Media allegedly threatened not to air broadcasts on its affiliate stations. The media company said in a statement that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk” and planned to replace Jimmy Kimmel Live! with alternative programs instead.
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say About Charlie Kirk?
Charlie Kirk Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Kirk, a conservative political activist, was shot and killed earlier in September 2025 at the age of 31.
During the September 15, 2025, episode of his talk show, Kimmel accused conservatives of reaching “new lows” by trying to claim that Tyler Robinson, who is in jail for Kirk’s murder, was part of the far-left movement.
“The MAGA Gang [is] 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,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Days earlier, Kimmel condemned gun violence in an Instagram message.
“Instead of angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he wrote via Instagram earlier that month. “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
How Did the Federal Communications Commission Respond?
The FCC is an independent agency in the United States, which regulates communications by radio, television and cable broadcasts. The organization’s chairperson, Brendan Carr, had called for Kimmel’s suspension earlier in September ahead of ABC’s decision.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on The Benny Show. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
What Replaced ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on ABC?
Jimmy Kimmel and John Oliver on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’. Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images
ABC aired a rerun of Celebrity Family Feud on September 17, 2025, instead of a new episode of Kimmel’s show that was planned. Sinclair Broadcast Group, an ABC affiliate, decided to air a special honoring Kirk beginning September 19, 2025.
In addition, a slew of protestors were spotted outside the Jimmy Kimmel Live! studio in Hollywood, California, that same day.
How Jimmy Kimmel’s Staff Was Informed About the Situation
A source told Us Weekly that employees “were initially told that the suspension was just going to be for the rest of this week” and “no one knows what’s really going on.”
According to the insider, the staffers are worried about returning to the studio.
Kimmel, meanwhile, reportedly learned about ABC’s decision hours before the news broke. Deadline reported that the TV host received a “businesslike and professional” phone call from Disney executive Dana Walden, the co-chairperson of the entertainment branch, that afternoon.
