ABC confirmed Wednesday that the popular late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has been "pre-empted indefinitely" following comments Kimmel made on the show in response to the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk."Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely," an ABC spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.There was no word on if or when the show may return.
Kimmel's show has been a staple of the network since it began airing in 2003.CBS News has reached out to Kimmel's representatives for comment. ABC's announcement came after media giant Nexstar announced in a news release that it would pre-empt Kimmel's show indefinitely on all its stations over Kimmel's remarks."Mr.Kimmel's comments about the death of Mr.
Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located," said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division, in a statement."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." Nexstar owns and operates more than 200 stations nationwide.It's unclear how many of those are ABC affiliates.Sinclair Broadcast Group, another major station owner, also said it was pulling the show."Due to problematic comments regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk in programming provided to broadcast stations by ABC, Sinclair and its partners, which operate ABC stations in 30 markets in the U.S., will stop airing Jimmy Kimmel's show until further notice," the company said.Sinclair said it will instead air a "special in remembrance of Charlie Kirk during Jimmy Kimmel Live timeslot" on Friday.
The company also...