After the recent passing of the famous right wing influencer, Charlie Kirk, the internet turned into a frenzy with various media outlets reporting the news and grievances. With this came a multitude of opinions about the heavily controversial figure. Jimmy Kimmel, like many other talk show hosts, took it upon himself to make comments about the situation. During his opening monologue on September 15, Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kirk was murdered earlier this month on September 10, 2025 at Utah Valley in Orem, Utah. The killer, Tyler Robinson was taken into custody after a 30 plus hour man-hunt. As he was captured, social media flooded with speculation regarding his political affiliation. Despite both parties shifting blame, Robinson was registered to vote unaffiliated with either party.
The comments made by Kimmel in his opening monologue faced immediate backlash from the public. Just days after, ABC took action upon the talk show host suspending him indefinitely Wednesday morning. ABC affiliated stations warned the ABC that they would no longer air the talk-show, specifically Nexstar and Disney. This immense social pressure and financial pressure likely put ABC in an awkward position, leading to the suspension of Kimmel.
What does this mean for the future of late night talk shows?
Late night talk show hosts are known for their incredibly ‘edgy’ and intense political commentary. The suspension of Kimmel raised questions about the future for talk show hosts and live political commentary. In fact, social media influencers and talk show hosts alike began to question the restriction of free speech. The FCC, or the federal communication commission, a government run agency pushed for the suspension of Kimmel’s talk show as well, further propelling the idea that the government was silencing citizens. The implications of Kimmel’s suspension were horrific, the fear that expressing disapproval of certain political parties could lead to their restriction from live television.
“People look at comedy because the most powerful people in the world can be made fun of. That’s what free speech is,” Pankaj Sharma, Niles North history teacher said. “One infamous example of this in the past is McCarthyism. People felt like they were being censored if they said something about communism or the government. ”
When will Jimmy Kimmel return?
While ABC deemed Kimmel’s suspension to be indefinite, it did not hold up, with Kimmel returning live this past Tuesday after merely 6 days of suspension. The reinstatement of the talk show was not taken lightly by many. ABC’s biggest affiliates such as Nexstar and Sinclair expressed their distaste for the return of the talk show, replacing and no longer airing Kimmel despite Disney and ABC’s return of the show. While seemingly insignificant, Nexstar is a major owner of local ABC stations, similar to Sinclair, who proclaimed they would not be airing the talk show. These restrictions placed upon the show could hold detrimental effects to the future of Kimmel’s show, Nexstar and Sinclair bringing a large audience of viewers, reducing income and profits greatly.
