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Why Jimmy Kimmel Was Taken Off the Air—and When He Returned

After Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks about reactions to Charlie Kirk’s killing, ABC suspended his show, announced its return, and saw some local affiliates continue preemptions before reversing course.
Opened Runtime3 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Jimmy Kimmel was not permanently fired. After a September 15, 2025, monologue about reactions to Charlie Kirk’s killing, Nexstar said its ABC-affiliated stations would preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and ABC announced an indefinite preemption. Disney then said the show would return to ABC on September 23. Local station preemptions continued after that announcement, before Nexstar and Sinclair later said they would end theirs.

The title’s claim that “MAGA twisted” Kimmel’s words is an interpretation, not a finding established by the available record. The sequence does show that Kimmel’s remarks became the focus of political and regulatory pressure—and that the network decision and local station decisions were separate.

What Kimmel said about Charlie Kirk’s killing

In a September 15, 2025, monologue, Jimmy Kimmel Live! host Jimmy Kimmel criticized what he described as efforts by “the MAGA gang” to distance the person who killed Charlie Kirk from their political movement and to score political points from the killing. ABC News’s September 21 transcript records his words:

“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.”

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The quote documents Kimmel’s accusation; it does not, on its own, establish that every person who objected to his remarks deliberately misrepresented them. The controversy unfolded as officials and broadcasters responded to the monologue and the surrounding public reaction.

How the preemption unfolded

  • September 15: Kimmel delivers the monologue.
  • September 17: FCC Chair Brendan Carr comments publicly on broadcaster action. Nexstar announces that its ABC-affiliated stations will preempt the program. ABC then announces an indefinite preemption.
  • September 22: Disney announces the show will return to ABC the following day.
  • September 23: Nexstar says its affiliated stations will continue to preempt the show, despite the network’s return announcement.
  • September 26: ABC News reports that Nexstar and Sinclair have announced they will end their preemptions.

What role did FCC Chair Brendan Carr play?

Carr’s remarks preceded the broadcasters’ announcements. An official FCC document reproducing his September 17 comments quotes him saying: “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.” He made the comment in a podcast interview, as identified in the FCC document.

The timing and wording are evidence of public pressure from the FCC chair. They do not, by themselves, prove that Carr caused Disney’s decision to suspend the show, or establish the motives behind each company’s actions.

Why Kimmel returned while some stations still preempted the show

ABC and Disney made a network-level decision about the program: Disney announced that production had been suspended and that the show would return to ABC on Tuesday, September 23. The company said it had suspended production “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”

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Affiliate stations made separate carriage decisions. Nexstar’s September 23 statement said its ABC affiliates would continue preempting the program and that the show would be available on multiple Disney-owned streaming products. That was a statement at the time, not confirmation of present-day streaming availability or terms. On September 26, ABC News reported that Nexstar and Sinclair announced an end to their preemptions.

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Did the decision violate the First Amendment?

The cited record documents a dispute over political pressure and broadcaster decisions; it does not include a court ruling deciding whether the actions violated the Constitution. The First Amendment generally limits government restrictions on speech, while the decisions at issue included actions by private companies and station groups. Carr’s public remarks raise questions about government pressure, but the cited statements and chronology alone do not resolve a legal claim or establish liability.

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