Jimmy Kimmel Live! cancelled: Jimmy Kimmel’s popular late-night show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ that aired on the Friday primetime slot has been suspended indefinitely for broadcast. The decision was taken by ABC after the host’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s death. Found to be “deeply insensitive” by Nextstar and Sinclair, Kimmel faced significant backlash for his remarks about the incident.
While several free-speech advocates flocked to his support, Kimmel’s suspension received a variety of reactions on the Internet. However, the Sinclair group believed that a suspension was not enough; they also urged Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family and make a personal donation to them and Turning Point USA.
One of the most significant reactions came from US President Trump himself. Taking to Truth Social, he called Kimmel’s show “ratings-challenged”. He wrote, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.” Here is what the rest of the internet thinks.
‘Maybe Jimmy fired Jimmy’
Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ has been airing on ABC since 2003. As it was set to enter its 25th year, Kimmel’s show averaged about 1 million views and ranked no. 1 in its format. However, it did experience a gradual decline this year, but saw a lower rating than rivals such as the Emmy 2025 host, Stephen Colbert’s show.
Echoing the US President Donald Trump‘s claims of the drop in the rating of Kimmel’s show, a netizen on X (formerly Twitter) remarked, “Somehow Elon, Trump, and MAGA fired Jimmy Kimmel even though they have zero control over how ABC conducts their business. Maybe Jimmy fired Jimmy. Just like Colbert fired Colbert. If you’re bad at your job (ratings), you get fired.”
Viewers of the show even reported that they found Kimmel “unfunny” and called his jokes a “crime against comedy.” Bashing several freedom-of-expression supporters, a post on X read, “This isn’t a 1st amendment issue. Jimmy Kimmel’s show was on broadcast media, and he entered a contract to follow the FCC rules of conduct. He violated them, and ABC fired him.”
‘They fired him for speaking the truth’
Several users were quick to bring up his past comments on COVID-related deaths, and were rather surprised that he wasn’t fired then. It also brought up the time when Tucker Carlson was fired in 2023, despite moderately high ratings. Speaking in Kimmel’s support, a user on X noted, “Kimmel spoke the truth. They fired him for speaking the truth,” referring to what he said about Charlie Kirk’s shooter, Tyler Robinson. “The government shut down his speech,” opined another.
Gradually gaining traction on social media, “BoycottABC” is being used lavishly in several posts. “Entertainment” is all about subliminal CONTROL anyway. #BoycottABC (and #BoycottDisney too),” wrote a user online.