❓WHAT HAPPENED: Jimmy Kimmel Live! is set to return to air after a brief suspension for making false statements about Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jimmy Kimmel, Disney, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, and several celebrities lobbying on Kimmel’s behalf, such as Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The suspension occurred last Wednesday, with the show set to return on Tuesday night. The controversy unfolded nationwide.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Jimmy Kimmel said of Tyler Robinson, the leftist alleged to have assassinated Kirk, in the comments that earned him his suspension.
🎯IMPACT: The preconditions for Kimmel’s return, if any, are not entirely clear.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is returning to air after being suspended last week following backlash over comments made by Jimmy Kimmel regarding the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk. Kimmel, 57, had made false statements about Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, a leftist with a transgender lover, by suggesting he was part of “the MAGA gang” despite all evidence to the contrary.
ABC announced the show’s return, stating that the decision was made after “thoughtful conversations” with parent company Disney. A spokesman for ABC explained, “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Kimmel had said of alleged assassin Tyler Robinson, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it”—even though there was no evidence Robinson was MAGA and ample evidence he was a radical leftist. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr criticized the comments, calling them “some of the sickest conduct possible,” and suggested ABC take action or face further scrutiny from the FCC.
Notably, it is against FCC rules for broadcast licensees or permittees to knowingly spread “false information concerning a crime or a catastrophe” if it causes “substantial” public harm.
In response to Kimmel’s comments, local station groups like Nexstar and Sinclair removed Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their schedules. Celebrities, including Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, who were relatively indifferent to Charlie Kirk’s assassination for exercising his free speech, were quick to rush to Kimmel’s defense, hailing him as a martyr for the First Amendment.
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