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Liberal Hollywood Lashes Out After ABC Benches Jimmy Kimmel

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Photo Credit: "THE OSCARS(r) - The 89th Oscars(r) broadcasts live on Oscar(r) SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2017, on the ABC Television Network (ABC/Eddy Chen) JIMMY KIMMEL" by Walt Disney Television is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licensesby-nd/2.0/

Jimmy Kimmel has been sidelined indefinitely after his controversial remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sparking a wave of backlash from viewers and praise from Hollywood allies.

On Wednesday, ABC announced that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would be off the air “for the foreseeable future.”

The suspension came just days after Kimmel mocked Republicans during his Monday monologue, calling them the “MAGA gang” and accusing them of exploiting the murder of Kirk, who was gunned down last week at Utah Valley University.

“We had 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,” Kimmel said on air.

He added that while there had been criticism of the White House lowering the flags in Kirk’s honor, “on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.”

After, Kimmel then played a clip of President Donald Trump speaking about how he was coping with the loss of Kirk, who was a close ally.

The studio audience laughed as Kimmel compared Trump’s grief to a child mourning a goldfish.

The suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, appeared in court Tuesday on charges that included aggravated murder.

Investigators reported that Robinson held far-left views and had been in a relationship with a transgender roommate.

By midweek, Nexstar Media Group announced that it would pull Kimmel’s show from its ABC affiliates.

Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said in a statement that the comedian’s words were “offensive and insensitive.”

“Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time,” Alford said.

He added that the network hoped “cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”

The decision set off an immediate reaction in liberal Hollywood, who lashed out against the network’s decision.

Singer John Legend amplified a post from David Frum that read, “How dare you call us fascists just because our appointees threaten government retaliation against broadcast networks if their comedians don’t say what we want them to say.”

Pop star Halsey called Kimmel’s suspension “extreme censorship” and likened it to propaganda.

“We’re in the ‘tell on your friends and neighbors’ part of the fascism in case it wasn’t clear,” she wrote on Instagram.

Actor Ben Stiller jumped to X, declaring, “This isn’t right,” while former CNN host Brian Stelter insisted the country had become “less free” following ABC’s move.

“America is a less free place if late night comedians cannot do and say what they want,” Stelter said, before warning of a “chilling effect” on the broader media landscape.

Democrats in Washington quickly joined in the defense. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the decision as government pressure to silence speech.

“Trump and his allies seem to want to shut down speech that they don’t like to hear. That is not what democracies do. That is what autocracies do,” Schumer said.

“It doesn’t matter whether you agree with Kimmel or not, he has the right to free speech. And so, it is just outrageous.”

Schumer compared the suspension to actions of foreign dictators, warning that if it continues, “this country [is on] a road that could go to autocracy.”

He predicted lawsuits would follow, saying courts had always defended free speech and should do so again.

President Trump, however, welcomed ABC’s call. “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” Trump wrote.

“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” he added. “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”

Trump urged a rival network to cancel the last of the late night shows. “That leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”

Earlier in the day, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr described Kimmel’s monologue as “some of the sickest conduct” he had seen, and floated the idea of disciplinary action.

“There’s a very concerted effort to try to lie to the American people about the nature of one of the most significant newsworthy public interest acts that we’ve seen in a long time,” Carr said.

He noted that Kimmel had attempted to push the false idea that the assassination was politically motivated by conservatives.

Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld predicted Kimmel’s career was finished. “If he doesn’t address what he did, he’s done,” Gutfeld said, calling the controversy “a great case study of cognitive dissonance.”

The co-host of “The Five” accused Kimmel of living in denial about Trump supporters and Republicans.

“If you wrestle him away from this delusion that he’s stuck with for years about Trump supporters, about Trump, about Republicans in general, what’s left? The realization that you are the bad guy in the movie.”

Gutfeld noted that Kirk’s assassin was “more likely a fan of yours than he was in MAGA.”

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