Jimmy Kimmel’s cousin and frequent Jimmy Kimmel Live! performer Sal Iacono is speaking out after the late night show was suspended.
“I wish I could say anything,” Iacono, 54, shared on the Monday, September 22, episode of “The Bill Simmons” podcast. “There are a couple bombshells still there. I’m feeling good. We’re going to be all right. Everything’s going to be just fine.”
After 22 years on the air, Kimmel’s show was abruptly pulled from broadcast on September 17.
ABC, which is owned by Disney, decided to pull the show after Nexstar Media allegedly threatened not to air broadcasts on its affiliate stations, Variety reported. The media company said in a statement that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk” and planned to replace Jimmy Kimmel Live! with alternative programs instead.
“I can’t really say anything,” Iacono added during his latest podcast appearance. “I know too much, and it’s very emotional. … When I can, I will.”
Iacono — who also serves as a longtime writer on the show — called the past week “tumultuous,” but was still able to have a family night with Kimmel’s crew over the weekend.
“My kids, I think they felt weird approaching him at first,” Iacono recalled to host Bill Simmons. “And my middle guy, Jack, who is a junior in high school, breaks the ice and says in his deadpan way, says, ‘Hey, some kids at school say it’s not right what happened to you’ and just leaves it there.”
One person who isn’t too concerned about Kimmel, 57, is Simmons, 55.
Before signing off his show, the podcast host shared his belief that the late night veteran will find success no matter what he decides to do next.
“He’ll be fine, whatever he wants to do,” Simmons said. “Hey listen, he might just want to be a pop-up chef and start making barbecue around the South Bay area. He’ll do a great job.”
Since Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled off the air, more than 400 celebrities have signed a letter in support of the comedian.
In an open letter shared via the ACLU website on Monday, stars like Jennifer Aniston, Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep and more expressed their belief that “this moment is bigger than us and our industry.”
“Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country,” the letter continued. “We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power — because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us. This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.”