The decision to get Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air was not as hasty as you might think.
The issue had been brewing all week among senior Disney and ABC officials, since Kimmel made comments during his Monday night monologue about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer and, as he himself called Trump supporters, the “MAGA band.”
Kimmel’s remarks on Monday drew anger from the right, putting the show in Disney’s sights.
On Tuesday’s show, Kimmel insisted, “Many in the MAGA world are trying hard enough to cash in on Charlie Kirk’s murder.”
But it wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon, after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr took part in a conservative podcast and threatened to pull broadcast licenses from ABC affiliates, that the matter escalated.
So, Nexstar, the group of stations that broadcasts “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in about two dozen markets, announced that it would not air the program.
Carr’s public statement that Disney risked losing its local broadcast licenses was a “real and serious threat” to all of ABC, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
“It’s not just Jimmy Kimmel Live. It’s all about ABC, all of its programs and all of its employees,” said another source with knowledge of the ongoing conversations at the company.
A veteran television news producer, who does not work for ABC, told CNN: “There is no more terrifying circumstance for a broadcasting entity than the threat of an FCC fine or, worse, that the agency can revoke the broadcast licenses of the stations.”
According to a person familiar with the situation, Kimmel was preparing to deliver his monologue on his show on Wednesday night and planned to address the right-wing reaction to his early-week comments on the politicization of Kirk’s murder.
This person describes Kimmel’s planned monologue as “very intense,” directed against the MAGA base.
Disney CEOs spoke with Kimmel to try to lower the intensity of his monologue, according to the source. And at the same time, Nexstar announced its plan to cancel Kimmel’s program.
That’s when Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden decided to suspend the show indefinitely, hoping to protect Kimmel and the Disney brand from further controversy.
Walden called Kimmel to talk about how to move forward, according to a source. Walden and Kimmel maintain a long-lasting and positive relationship, and Kimmel has always enjoyed an excellent reputation on ABC, according to numerous sources.
“Everyone values it deeply, and they want it to come back,” a source said. “But it has to lower the temperature.”
The source notes that Kimmel has always been free to voice his view of Trump and has never been censored on his program. But in the face of serious threats from the FCC, the company had to make a business decision.
Several of the people who spoke to CNN claimed that Disney employees and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” staff members began receiving death threats following Carr’s remarks on Wednesday, and that his email addresses and phone numbers were released on social media.
For Disney, the problem in question transcended Kimmel: it became a security issue for employees and advertisers of the show.
While no decision has been made on how to move forward, the source commented that Disney “is hopeful” that there is a way to bring Kimmel’s show back.
His contract expires at the end of his current season, in May 2026. For years, Kimmel, who also hosted the Oscars for ABC, has won an Emmy for introducing “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” The network has dealt with the decision to continue or not with its program, and the last time it was raised whether it would renew its contract was in 2022.
“After two decades on ABC, I now look forward to three years of what they call ‘silent resignation,’” Kimmel joked in a statement as his latest contract extension was announced.
Kimmel has not yet spoken publicly about the suspension of his program. CNN has contacted its representatives for comment.
ABC did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the show’s future.
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