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By Lisa Richwine, David Shepardson and Trevor Hunnicutt
LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Walt Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday it was pulling "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off the air, after comments by the late-night show's host about the assassination of Charlie Kirk triggered a threat by the head of the top U.S. communications regulator against Disney.
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pressured broadcasters to stop airing content he has found objectionable and called on the Federal Communications Commission to pull licenses from stations, celebrated the news in a social media post.
A number of Democratic lawmakers assailed the decision, saying that free speech was under attack.
"‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will be pre-empted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson said, without elaborating.
"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. He also called on Comcast-owned NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, the hosts of late-night comedy shows on the network who often make jokes at Trump's expense.
Kimmel made remarks on Monday night about the September 10 assassination of Kirk.
"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 on his Monday night show.
Kimmel also criticized Trump's mourning of Kirk, pointing to a video of Trump's comments on the White House lawn. "This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish," Kimmel said.
Kimmel did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on Wednesday.
Trump has frequently credited Kirk for driving more young voters and voters of color in support of his successful 2024 presidential campaign. Kirk was a co-founder at age 18 of Turning Point USA, an organization dedicated to advancing conservative causes on college campuses and among young voters.
ABC made its announcement after Nexstar Media Group said it would stop airing the show on its 32 ABC affiliates, citing Kimmel's comments.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of the broadcasting division of Nexstar.
FCC CHAIR SAYS IT'S A "VERY, VERY SERIOUS ISSUE FOR DISNEY"
Earlier on Wednesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr had urged local broadcasters to stop airing "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC. He suggested the commission could open an investigation and that broadcasters could potentially be fined or lose their licenses if there was a pattern of distorted comment.
"This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said in a podcast interview with conservative Benny Johnson that aired Wednesday. "Disney needs to see some change here, but the individual licensed stations that are taking their content, it's time for them to step up and say this, you know, garbage to the extent that that's what comes down the pipe in the future isn't something that we think serves the needs of our local communities."
Carr praised Nexstar. "While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values," he said.
Nexstar, which describes itself as the nation's largest local television and media company, needs FCC approval for its $6.2 billion deal to acquire smaller rival Tegna.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the FCC's only Democratic commissioner, criticized Carr. "This administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression," she said.
Democratic lawmakers also criticized the move.
"This is censorship in action. FCC Chair threatens ABC and Disney over Kimmel's comments. Hours later, he's off the air," Senator Ed Markey said in a post on X.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii also weighed in on X with similar comments. Pritzker called it "an attack on free speech," while Schatz said, "his was the govt using regulatory leverage to crush speech."
TRUMP HAS REPEATEDLY SUED AND THREATENED MEDIA COMPANIES
Trump has repeatedly sued, berated and threatened media companies whose coverage he disputes with legal or other action.
Trump this week filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times and book publisher Penguin Random House, accusing them of treating him unfairly.
“Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel,” Trump said after Colbert’s dismissal.
CBS-parent Paramount paid $16 million in July to resolve a civil suit over what Trump alleged was the network's deceptive editing of an interview with presidential candidate Kamala Harris after ABC in December paid $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump over anchor George Stephanopoulos' on-air description of the president's conduct in the E. Jean Carroll case.
At the time, CBS parent Paramount Global was the FCC's approval for a merger with Skydance Media, which was ultimately granted, forming Paramount Skydance. The deal was approved after the Trump suit was settled and after the FCC under Carr opened a probe into the Harris interview.
Viewership of late-night shows has been on the decline, as has much of traditional TV, as viewers shift to streaming and social media. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" averaged 1.57 million viewers per episode during the broadcast season that ended in May, according to Nielsen. "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was the most-watched late-night show during that time with an average of 1.9 million viewers.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and ; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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