Jimmy Kimmel had a choice when the controversy erupted over his false comments, and he made the wrong one. Rather than taking responsibility for promoting fake news about Charlie Kirk's assassin, the late-night host dug in his heels and essentially forced ABC's hand into suspending his show indefinitely.
The whole mess started when Kimmel took to his September 16 monologue and falsely suggested that Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was somehow connected to the MAGA movement.
“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.
Never mind that investigations later revealed that Robinson held leftist beliefs and had zero ties to Trump supporters. Kimmel had his narrative, and facts weren't going to get in the way.
When the predictable backlash came rolling in from critics and ABC affiliate owners, Kimmel could have done what any reasonable person would do: acknowledge the mistake and apologize. Instead, he doubled down.
Deadline has the scoop:
Kimmel made it clear he was unwilling to apologize for his remarks, according to insiders, and was going to direct the focus on President Trump’s most fervent supporters, who have been in uproar since Monday night when Kimmel said the “MAGA gang desperately [is] trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it”.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and TV executive Dana Walden found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. Major ABC station owners were breathing down their necks, the FCC was making noise about potential regulatory consequences, and their “star” host was essentially giving everyone the middle finger. Something had to give, and it wasn't going to be the corporate bottom line.
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The irony here is thick enough to cut with a knife. Hollywood's usual suspects are now crying about censorship and free speech violations, conveniently forgetting how silent they were when Disney axed Roseanne Barr over a tweet or when Gina Carano got the boot from The Mandalorian for her social media posts.
According to Deadline, “Disney felt that if he had doubled down, the company would have been forced to make a more drastic decision on Jimmy Kimmel Live’s future instead of the announced preemption,” and that Disney “hopes that it will be able to have Kimmel back on the air ‘soon.’” However, Kimmel is reportedly "absolutely furious" about the suspension and is looking for ways to break his ABC contract.
But Kimmel would be on the air today, spewing his usual anti-Trump hatred if he simply apologized for lying. Instead, he chose to make this the hill he wanted to die on professionally. Sometimes pride really does come before the fall, and in this case, the fall came with a suspension notice.
Kimmel's defenders can scream about censorship all they want, but this wasn't about silencing voices. It’s not a free speech issue. This was about a host who crossed a line, refused to back down, and forced his network to choose between supporting him or protecting their business interests. They chose business, as they always do.
Jimmy Kimmel chose pride over truth and paid the price! While Hollywood elites scream “censorship,” they stayed silent when conservatives got canceled for far less. PJ Media will always expose the hypocrites when the mainstream media won't. Support our work by joining PJ Media VIP with promo code FIGHT for 60% off and get exclusive content without the ads. Don’t wait—support conservative journalism that puts America First!
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