# ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel show indefinitely because of comments about GOP response to Charlie Kirk death. (Kimmel will be back on air Tuesday 2025-09-23) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 17, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138 "2025-09-17T23:27:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/464 "2025-09-25T22:03:57Z")
And now the shareholders are revolting (no, not in that sense): > **[Kimmel Corporate Fallout: Threatening Legal Action, Disney Shareholders Want...](https://deadline.com/2025/09/disney-shareholders-legal-threat-kimmel-suspension-1236555246/)** > > Kimmel Fallout Continues: Disney Could Be Facing Lawsuit From Shareholders Over Late Night Host's Benching > Jimmy Kimmel is back on ABC after a weeklong suspension, but the lawyer who beat Donald Trump in sexual abuse and defamation cases wants the Walt Disney Company to come clean with its shareholders about how it all went down – or else. > > “There is a credible basis to suspect that the Board and executives may have breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty, care, and good faith by placing improper political or affiliate considerations above the best interests of the Company and its stockholders,” says a letter delivered to Bob Iger today from Roberta Kaplan and other lawyers for the American Federation of Teachers, mega-union the AFL-CIO and Reporters Without Borders. > > “The Company’s response to the books and records demands set forth below will allow AFT and RWB to assess the ability of the Board to impartially consider a demand for action, including a request for permission to file a derivative lawsuit on Disney’s behalf in the event that members of the Board or Disney executives did not properly discharge their fiduciary duties,” the attorneys for the House of Mouse shareholders add. Roberta Kaplan (who, as noted, represented E Jean Carroll against DJT twice) certainly knows that the way to a mogul’s attention is through his\* pocketbook. \* Sadly, it’s almost always “his.” ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/465 "2025-09-25T22:29:07Z")
If Kimmel thinks Disney treated him fair enough, he’s not going to be a good witness against them. That might not technically be what the lawsuit is about, but it won’t be a good look if Kimmel has no beef with Disney. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/466 "2025-09-25T22:32:47Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > If Kimmel thinks Disney treated him fair enough, he’s not going to be a good witness against them. In this particular case it really doesn’t matter what Kimmel believes about how he was treated. I don’t think the lawsuit will go very far. One could certainly argue Disney was doing what they thought was in the best interest of their shareholders. i.e. They were acting properly in their capacity as a fiduciary. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/467 "2025-09-26T00:36:14Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > If Kimmel thinks Disney treated him fair enough, he’s not going to be a good witness against them. > > That might not technically be what the lawsuit is about, but it won’t be a good look if Kimmel has no beef with Disney. There were news reports (with photos) of Kimmel at his lawyer’s office before his show was reinstated. Kimmel may think Disney/ABC treated him fairly at the end, but he probably brought pressure of his own. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/468 "2025-09-26T03:13:21Z")
I’ve mentioned that The Spousal Unit used to become exasperated by my political rants, and that now she’s attending freeway overpass banner-and-flag displays. She went from ‘Don’t worry, Old men die,’ to a bit of an activist. Anyway, I showed her the Robert De Niro as FCC Chairman bit from Jimmy Kimmel’s post-suspension come-back. She laughed several times. 🙂 ❤ ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/469 "2025-09-26T03:30:38Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > …if Trump gets bigger wins on the media front – say, Bari Weiss being named editor in chief of CBS News, and [Larry Ellison purchasing CNN](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/technology/larry-ellison-oracle-tiktok.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ok8.nSgL.55SPZCMpo1-2&smid=url-share) – tolerating a few late night comics would be a livable way to appease Ted Cruz types who like a nod to free speech. No, the Fat Orange Monster has very, very thin skin under all that orange fur. No way he can tolerate a few late night comics mocking him. He MUST destroy all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/470 "2025-09-26T04:59:40Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > No way he can tolerate a few late night comics mocking him. Indeed. Way back up in **[post 75](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/75)** I detailed historical precedents where the Nazis and the Iranian Shah’s government _specifically_ went after comic entertainers as a priority. Yes, it’s important to control the objective news media to manage the factual message. But it’s as important — literally _just as_ important — to ensure nobody is popping the balloon of the dictator’s perceived omnipotence by laughing at him, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/471 "2025-09-26T05:09:56Z")
Make them stop laughing, and you are well on your way to making them afraid to fight back. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/472 "2025-09-26T18:26:50Z")
Looks like this distraction is over. > **[Sinclair brings Jimmy Kimmel's show back to its ABC-affiliated stations,...](https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-sinclair-affiliates-40489e9058a609029ebcb2ef894221e9)** > > Sinclair Broadcast Group has decided to bring Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show back to its ABC affiliate stations. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/473 "2025-09-26T18:38:16Z")
Doesn’t that leave Nexstar? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/474 "2025-09-26T19:09:36Z")
Yeah, but I expect they will fold soon too. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/475 "2025-09-26T19:15:38Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If Trump and Carr give up on controlling mainstream TV news, that’s the ball game. I’m not saying DJT or Carr have given up on their attempts to censor the media but with Sinclair returning Kimmel’s show to their stations it looks like they are losing for now. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/476 "2025-09-26T19:26:18Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Yeah, but I expect they will fold soon too. I caught a bit of this story on CNN earlier today. I was happy to hear that Sinclair had folded (to borrow your word), and I think that Nexstar will too. No idea when, but I’m sure they will. Think of the pressure they’re under from their affiliates. No viewers equals no revenue, so the affiliates are losing money. Not that Kimmel was a ratings monster, but he did attract viewers who would rather watch him than a rerun of “Celebrity Family Feud.” Now, the affiliates are attracting few to no viewers in that time slot. Moreover, Kimmel’s audience has learned that they can catch Kimmel on YouTube anyway, so there’s no need to watch him on broadcast TV. His message is still getting out there, just not from the affiliates, who have sold advertising time in his slot. Like I said, I don’t know when Nexstar will fold, but I agree with you that they will. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/477 "2025-09-26T19:27:27Z")
So what percentage of viewers does Nexstar have? Not too great, but our local ABC station is part of it, the buttholes. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/478 "2025-09-26T20:22:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Not that Kimmel was a ratings monster, but he did attract viewers who would rather watch him than a rerun of “Celebrity Family Feud.” Worse than that, Sinclair was running a 90-minute version of _National News Desk_, a conservative oriented show for their affiliates who didn’t have a late local newscast. Worse than _Celebrity Family Feud_, it was filler programming that appealed to the **exact opposite audience** as Kimmel. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/479 "2025-09-26T20:38:33Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I’m not saying DJT or Carr have given up on their attempts to censor the media but with Sinclair returning Kimmel’s show to their stations it looks like they are losing for now. Agreed. It looks like,at worst, Nexstar is just waiting for approval for the Tegna acquisition before bringing back Kimmel. There is a lot more to go. Will Ellison totally emasculate CBS and CNN in time to sway the 2028 elections? Maybe yes, maybe no. Bezos has had WaPo for twelve years. It took a decade to gut the opinion side, and there still are a lot of hard news articles Trump cannot like. (Example today: [On Thursday night and Friday morning, Trump celebrated one of the most brazen examples of payback since his return to the White House.](https://wapo.st/4nrPAYw)) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/480 "2025-09-26T21:14:40Z")
Nexstar joins Sinclair - issues press release stating stations to bring back Kimmel as of today: > **[“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” To Return To Nexstar’s ABC Affiliated Television Stations...](https://www.nexstar.tv/jimmy-kimmel-live-to-return-to-nexstars-abc-affiliated-television-stations/)** > > IRVING, TX (Sept. 26, 2025)—Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), today announced that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to the company’s owned and ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/481 "2025-09-26T21:25:40Z")
I am eagerly awaiting DJT’s reaction to this news. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/482 "2025-09-26T21:32:42Z")
Trump’s mind is on the next thing - namely, “prosecutions” of Comey, James, and Schiff. Wouldn’t be surprised if Trump never again really revisits the Jimmy Kimmel flap, except maybe to kvetch in front of friendly audiences at rallies. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138/483 "2025-09-26T21:38:41Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > So what percentage of viewers does Nexstar have? Not They own something like 20 ABC affiliates (out of 250-ish), if I remember correctly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-show-indefinitely-because-of-comments-about-gop-response-to-charlie-kirk-death-kimmel-will-be-back-on-air-tuesday-2025-09-23/1023138.md?page=25)