ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! “indefinitely” after the host’s disgraceful comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassin has set off a firestorm — but when you strip away the noise, the logic is painfully clear.
Kimmel didn’t just misstep in a moment of poor judgment. He falsely implied that Kirk’s killer was a MAGA supporter, saying, “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…” There’s no twisting required here. It’s on video, in his own words.
WSJ reports Jimmy Kimmel planned to address the controversy had he gone on air Wednesday night. But Kimmel planned to blame MAGA, and Disney execs feared he would just make things worse. https://t.co/bUCESoAFrB pic.twitter.com/YWBLNBXuz1
— Byron York (@ByronYork) September 19, 2025
Instead of walking it back, instead of apologizing or correcting the record, Kimmel was reportedly planning to double down. According to one source close to the show, he intended to argue that his comments were being “purposefully twisted” by the MAGA movement. But that excuse falls flat — because nothing was twisted. He said what he said.
That refusal to show contrition left ABC and its affiliates with a choice: either continue platforming a host whose words had already enraged half the country, or cut their losses. Nexstar and Sinclair made it abundantly clear they weren’t willing to keep footing the bill for Kimmel’s tantrums, and ABC made the call.
WSJ reports Jimmy Kimmel planned to address the controversy had he gone on air Wednesday night. But Kimmel planned to blame MAGA, and Disney execs feared he would just make things worse. https://t.co/bUCESoAFrB pic.twitter.com/YWBLNBXuz1
— Byron York (@ByronYork) September 19, 2025
Yet predictably, Democrats and friendly media outlets rushed to spin the suspension as censorship — even blaming President Trump and the FCC. That narrative collapses under scrutiny. This wasn’t a First Amendment case. It wasn’t government silencing. It was a cold, hard business decision. Advertisers don’t want to pay for toxic commentary that drives viewers away, and affiliates don’t want to absorb the blowback.
And let’s be honest: Kimmel’s ratings collapse made him expendable. By August 2025, he had bled more than 40% of his audience since January. In the coveted 18–49 demo, his numbers were a disaster. When you combine plummeting ratings with inflammatory rhetoric and a stubborn refusal to back down, what executive in their right mind would keep signing the checks?
Disney execs freaking out about Jimmy Kimmel blaming half the country for his false flag conspiracy theory as their local affiliates ditched Kimmel’s show is clearly Brendan Carr’s fault https://t.co/fH6ApfimxY
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) September 19, 2025
Kimmel’s defenders may call it cancel culture. But in reality, it’s capitalism. Bad messaging plus bad ratings equals bad business.
