What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk - and why was his show suspended?

Jimmy Kimmel's talk show has been suspended after comments he made about Charlie Kirk's death during an opening monologue.

The veteran late-night host used his show on Monday night to accuse Donald Trump and his allies of capitalising on the conservative influencer's assassination last week, causing backlash from right-wing politicians and influencers.

Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday it would be taken off-air indefinitely - and with immediate effect - sparking strong responses from both Republicans and Democrats.

But what did Kimmel say, what reasons have been given for the suspension - and what has the reaction been?

What did Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk's death?

Delivering his opening monologue, the host said the "MAGA gang" was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it".

He also accused them of "working very hard to capitalise on the murder".

He then played a clip of Mr Trump being asked about how he was "holding up" by a reporter two days after Kirk's shooting, in which the president said he was doing "very good" before pivoting to the subject of construction being done nearby for the White House's new ballroom.

Kimmel then quipped: "He's at the fourth stage of grief: construction.

"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish," he added.

He highlighted supposed hypocrisy in how Republicans have responded to Kirk's death, suggesting Vice President JD Vance's unfounded claims that "most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left" were "complete bull****".

Mr Kimmel drew attention to Capitol rioters who, on 6 January 2021, "wanted to hang" Mr Trump's first term vice president, Mike Pence, for certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election win.

He said: "Was that the liberal left? Or the toothless army who stormed the Capitol on January 6?"

The MAGA movement, led by the president, has been critical of the left as a whole since Mr Kirk's shooting - even before suspect Tyler Robinson was arrested and charged.

In his Oval Office address on the night of the shooting, Mr Trump said the "radical left" had "compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals" for years, and that "this kind of rhetoric is directly responsible" for the shooting.

Show suspended after pressure mounted on Disney and ABC

On Wednesday, an ABC spokesperson said Jimmy Kimmel Live would "be pre-empted indefinitely", without elaborating on the decision. It is not known when or if it will return.

Before the announcement, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr, an independent US government agency that regulates television and radio, threatened to "take action" against Disney and ABC.

Mr Carr, a fervent Trump backer, warned the companies during an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson on Wednesday: "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Further pressure came from network operator NexStar, which operates more than 20 ABC affiliates, after it announced it would be pulling Mr Kimmel's show from its channels over the comments, which it called "offensive and insensitive".

Both Disney and NexStar have FCC business ahead of them. Disney is seeking regulatory approval for ESPN's acquisition of the NFL Network and NexStar needs the Trump administration's go-ahead to complete its $6.2billion purchase of broadcast rival Tegna.

Fellow ABC affiliate Sinclair, which owns a swathe of local media in the United States, also said it would stop airing Mr Kimmel's show before ABC suspended it.

What has been the reaction to Kimmel's 'cancellation'?

The president - who is in the UK for his state visit - celebrated the move on Truth Social, writing: "The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done."

His sentiments have been echoed widely on the right, while Democrats have shared their outrage at Mr Kimmel's suspension.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the Republicans did "not believe in free speech" and that they were "censoring you in real time," while Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called for people "across the political spectrum… to stop what's happening to Jimmy Kimmel".

Celebrities who have guested on the show joined Democrats in speaking out. Wanda Sykes accused Mr Trump of seeking to end freedom of speech, while Ben Stiller tweeted: "This isn't right."

Actress Jean Smart shared a picture of her with Kimmel on Instagram and said she was "horrified" by the show's cancellation, and comedian Michael Kosta, a rotating host on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, urged TV networks to "push back".

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Similarly, unions representing writers and actors branded the move as an attack on free speech, and accused ABC of caving to pressure from the White House.

The Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East said in a joint statement: "Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world."

Kimmel has not commented.

The group Refuse Fascism organised a protest outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood for Thursday, where the show is usually filmed.

'A really dangerous moment for democracy'

Fiona O'Brien, UK director of Reporters Without Borders, told Sky News that the show's suspension represented a "really dangerous moment for democracy".

"The media is not there to serve politicians," she said. "The media is there to hold those in power to account, to scrutinise them. The general public, which is who the media serve, have a right to know what those in power are doing."

She suggested that the tactics the Trump administration is accused of using to "block" freedom of speech, such as threatening to sue media corporations, are used by authoritarian governments around the world.

"It's a way to try and control the narrative... silence your critics and have have only one side of the story told," she added. "So any of these kinds of attacks represent a move away from objectivity."

Writing on social media, former president Barack Obama, once a guest on Kimmel's show said: "After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like."

Trump targets two remaining late show hosts

The president has taken issue with Kimmel - and other late-night hosts - throughout the years, as they often use their shows' monologues to criticise Mr Trump and other Republicans.

Jimmy Kimmel Live's demise comes just weeks after Stephen Colbert's The Late Show was cancelled by CBS.

After 10 years with Mr Colbert at the helm, the show is set to end when its current season ends next May.

While CBS said the move was "purely a financial decision" and "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount," his fans have speculated it was a result of Mr Trump, who he regularly criticises.

The president praised the move at the time, saying "his talent was even worse than his ratings".

Now Mr Trump is pushing for the axing of the two remaining late night shows belonging to Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers, who also regularly make him and his aides the butt of their jokes.

"Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible," the president said on Truth Social after Mr Kimmel's show was cancelled.

"That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT."

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