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Jimmy Kimmel’s fate at ABC is still up in the air as talks with Disney reportedly continue.
The late-night host is in ongoing discussions with Disney and ABC executives about the conditions under which his long-running show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” could return to air, according to Variety, which cited people familiar with the matter.
There is no guarantee Kimmel and Disney will reach an agreement, the report said. ABC has been airing repeats of “Celebrity Family Feud” in Kimmel’s slot following the suspension.
The show was pulled off the air “indefinitely” on Wednesday following a remark by Kimmel that the alleged killer of Republican conservative activist Charlie Kirk is connected to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
“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,” Kimmel said.
“In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving,” he added.
The suspension comes after considerable pressure from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, who said Kimmel’s joke appeared to “mislead” the American public about the facts around the killing of the conservative activist and suggested pulling ABC’s broadcast license.
On CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Carr said the FCC is “not done yet” with changes to the media landscape. Carr, who was appointed FCC chairman by Trump, assumed the role in January.
Trump has also suggested the federal government will revoke the licenses of broadcast television networks that are “against” him.
Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest local television broadcasting group, said its stations affiliated with ABC would preempt Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future” following the remarks. Sinclair Broadcast Group, another television station holder, also followed suit.
Kirk was killed Sept. 10 while speaking at a college campus in Utah. His influence with younger conservatives helped Trump secure his presidency, which endeared the conservative activist to the president.
ABC and Disney have come under fire from all sides following the episode. Conservative commentators who’ve disparaged Kimmel’s comments called the suspension a result of “consequence culture,” while liberals have said Republicans were engaging in the “cancel culture” they purported to despise.
Many have taken to protesting the late night host’s suspension. On Friday, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner backed Kimmel, saying in a social media post on “X”: “Where has all the leadership gone?”
“Maybe the Constitution should have said, ‘Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest,'” Eisner wrote. “By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.”
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday called for the reinstatement of Kimmel, saying on social media platform “X”: “Disney/ABC have a responsibility to refuse to participate in corruption.”
Many actors, writers and creatives in Hollywood have criticized the suspension. On Thursday, hundreds in Burbank, California, took part in a protest organized by the Writers Guild of America and the group Burbank Against ICE, carrying signs with slogans such as “Defend Free Speech” and “ABC Bends the Knee to Fascism.”
Elsewhere, on Friday, a man was arrested after shots were fired at a lobby window at the ABC affiliate station in Sacramento, California, police said. A spokesperson said the motive remains under investigation.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was among the unlikeliest of Kimmel’s supporters, after likening FCC Chair Carr’s comments related to the late-night host to the Mafia. “He says, ‘We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way’ … that’s right out of Goodfellas,” Cruz said of Carr.
“Let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you the media have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives,” Cruz said.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger and Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
