ABC has suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely following controversial comments he made about the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesperson for Disney-owned ABC said in a statement Friday. The network did not indicate when or if the show would return.
The decision came just hours after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, an appointee of President Donald Trump, warned the network of potential action over Kimmel’s remarks.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on the conservative podcast The Benny Show.
“These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
In his Monday night monologue, Kimmel said the “Maga gang” was attempting to “score political points” off Kirk’s death. He also criticized the decision to fly flags at half-staff in Kirk’s honor and mocked Trump’s reaction to the killing.
Kimmel has not commented publicly on his suspension. Trump, however, celebrated the news, calling it “great news for America.”
Kirk, a polarizing conservative figure, was fatally shot earlier this month.