As conservative officials and activists took a victory lap over ABC’s decision to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live” “indefinitely” following threats from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr over comments Kimmel made about the man who shot Charlie Kirk. Sinclair, Inc. said in a statement that this suspension is “not enough.”
Even before the suspension, the company, which owns 30 ABC affiliates across the United States, had already announced alongside Nexstar that it wouldn’t air Kimmel for the foreseeable future over the remarks. Now the company says it plans to air a Charlie Kirk remembrance special Friday in Kimmel’s usual time slot. And regardless, it said it won’t air “Jimmy Kimmel Live” again until certain conditions were met.
Among other things, those conditions include the demand that Kimmel apologize to the Kirk family — who, it should be noted, Kimmel did not joke about — and make an unspecified donation to their organizations.
“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” said Vice Chairman Jason Smith in the statement. “We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”
Sinclair stated that, before resuming broadcasts of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” they need to ensure “formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”
The incident started when Kimmel discussed Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old who shot and killed Charlie Kirk a week ago during his monologue on Monday night.
“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 doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
Kimmel’s assumption that Robinson was part of the political right turned out to be incorrect, but at the time he made the comment, all available evidence that was public pointed in that direction. On Tuesday however, more details were made public that at minimum made it clear Robinson was motivated by more personal concerns and not by right wing politics. Though many questions remain unanswered.
Nevertheless, conservatives zeroed in on Kimmel’s aside and turned it into a larger controversy which on Wednesday saw Carr threaten ABC, followed by announcements by Nexstar and Sinclair that they wouldn’t air Kimmel in their ABC affiliates.
