Is ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Canceled? What We Know About Its ‘Indefinite’ Hiatus

On Sept. 17, an ABC spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was indefinitely pulled following comments he made regarding far-right commentator Charlie Kirk

Kirk was fatally shot on Sept. 10 during a campus event at Utah Valley University

President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division Andrew Alford told PEOPLE that giving Kimmel a platform is not “in the public interest at the current time”

Jimmy Kimmel Live! has gone off air.
On Sept. 17, the talk show — which has been hosted by Jimmy Kimmel since 2003 — was pulled by Disney’s ABC shortly before its late-night broadcast. An ABC spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that the show was indefinitely pulled following comments Kimmel made on his program earlier in the week regarding the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10.
Kirk, the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder and conservative commentator, was shot on Sept. 10 during a campus event at Utah Valley University. Two days later, officials confirmed in a press conference that they had taken a suspect, Tyler Robinson, into custody. Robinson has since been charged with aggravated murder and six other counts, including witness tampering, for allegedly instructing his roommate to delete incriminating texts.
The incident has sparked heightened tensions nationwide, and Nexstar’s broadcasting division president, Andrew Alford, told PEOPLE in a statement that Kimmel’s comments — which included mocking the way in which President Donald Trump has been grieving his “friend” — are “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”
So, is Jimmy Kimmel Live! canceled? Here’s everything we know about what is happening at the beloved talk show.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! has not been officially canceled, but rather indefinitely pulled by Disney’s ABC, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to PEOPLE on Sept. 17.
Nexstar Media — the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the U.S., with more than 200 television stations in 116 markets — told PEOPLE in a statement that its “owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight’s show.”
In their statement to PEOPLE, Nexstar said that the company “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk.”
Alford elaborated on Nexstar’s decision in a statement to PEOPLE, explaining that the company doesn’t believe Kimmel’s comments “reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.”
He continued, “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
Meanwhile, Trump weighed in on Kimmel’s hiatus while at a state visit to the United Kingdom on Sept. 18, saying that the host was “fired for lack of talent.”
“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else and he said a horrible thing about a great man named Charlie Kirk,” Trump said. “Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person, he had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago.”
PEOPLE reached out to representatives for Kimmel.
During the Sept. 15 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the talk show host began his monologue by discussing recent events and directly addressing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” supporters in the wake of Kirk’s death.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” he said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.”
Kimmel proceeded to show a clip of Trump responding to questions after the shooting, where a reporter offered condolences for the loss of his “friend.” After being asked how he was holding up, Trump replied, “I think very good, and by the way, right there where you see all the trucks, they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House.”
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The cameras then cut back to Kimmel, who said Trump was “at the fourth stage of grief construction.”
“Demolition, construction,” Kimmel said. “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”
The host added that Trump’s comments weren’t a one-off. Kimmel showed another clip from Fox & Friends three days earlier, where Trump recalled learning of Kirk’s death while meeting with architects about the “incredible” ballroom design at the White House.
Shortly before ABC announced Kimmel’s indefinite suspension, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr criticized the late-night host’s comments on Benny Johnson’s podcast, calling his behavior “some of the sickest conduct possible.”
Carr described Kimmel’s comments as a “concerted effort to lie to the American people,” and said the FCC was “going to have remedies that we can look at.”
“Frankly, when you see stuff like this — I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he added. “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.”
While Kimmel has yet to address his show’s indefinite hiatus, many Hollywood stars have reacted to the news online.
Comedian Wanda Sykes shared an Instagram video explaining that she was scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the night that the show was pulled off the air. “Let’s see. He [Trump] didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week. But he did end freedom of speech within his first year. Hey, for those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy,” Sykes said in the video.
Fellow comedian Rosie O’Donnell shared a photo of Kimmel on Instagram, writing, “this is unacceptable – f— this fascist administration and corrupt corporate executives – bowing to the orange monster – america is no more 🥲.”
Actor Ben Stiller reacted to the news on X, writing, “This isn’t right,” while Hacks star Jean Smart shared a photo with Kimmel on Instagram, writing that she is “horrified at the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Black Rabbit actor Jason Bateman was asked about ABC’s decision during his Sept. 18 appearance on the Today show, where he described it as “troubling.”
“It’s troubling to say the least and we all have to really take a moment and figure out how we feel about this type of thing, especially people doing what you do. […] You can’t just stand by and let stuff like that go on,” he said, clarifying that the “stuff” he was referring to was “Jimmy getting his show pulled for Freedom of Speech.”