ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from the air indefinitely, and celebrities are coming to the talk show host’s defense online. On September 17, 2025, an ABC spokesperson told Rolling Stone that the recently-Emmy nominated late-night show “will be pre-empted indefinitely.â
What Jimmy Kimmel Actually Said About Charlie Kirk
Earlier in the day, Nextstar Media Group announced that their “owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ for the foreseeable future beginning with tonightâs show.”
According to Nextstar Media Group’s statement, the decision was due to Kimmel’s joke about Charlie Kirk’s recent passing. Kimmel actually said the following on the Monday night taping of his show:
âWe 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.â
This announcement comes exactly two months after CBS canceled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Kimmel was a vocal supporter of Colbert, even voting for “The Late Show” to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show, a category Kimmel was also nominated in. The day after the Emmy Awards, Kimmel celebrated Colbert’s win with John Oliver.
Celebrities React to the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ News
Margaret Cho used colorful language when commenting on Variety’s Instagram post, asking, âWhat the actual f.” Fellow comedian Atsuko Okatsuka also expressed dismay, writing “WHAT” in all caps in the comments section.
Kathy Griffin went to Bluesky to urge her followers to vocally support Kimmel. Griffin herself experienced backlash when she posted a “photo of herself holding up a Donald Trump mask made to look like a severed head” in 2017, according to NPR.
Wanda Sykes, who was supposed to be Kimmel’s guest on tonight’s episode, took to Instagram to express her disappointment with ABC’s decision and to ask for prayers. She also mentioned the First Amendment concept of freedom of speech, as did MSNBC host Chris Hayes when he wrote on the Elon Musk-owned website X (formerly known as Twitter).
Hayes called Kimmel’s forced hiatus “the most straightforward attack on free speech from state actors I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Ben Stiller also used X to explain his thoughts, writing, “This isn’t right.”
Comedian Mike Birbiglia posted a picture of a handwritten note on Instagram, on which he wrote about defending people even if you don’t agree with them. He also called for fellow comedians to make statements in support of Kimmel.
“Freaky Friday” actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who recently broke down in tears over Kirk’s passing, reposted a Kimmel quote on her Instagram story. The quote read, “I don’t think anyone should be canceled. I really don’t.” Kimmel said this quote in April 2025.
Although Kimmel’s show is not currently airing, and there’s no word on when it will return, if ever, he clearly has a lot of support from fans and celebrities alike.
The post Celebs Defend Jimmy Kimmel After ABC Pulled His Show From the Air appeared first on EntertainmentNow.