By Beatriz Colon

Copyright hellomagazine

Many were left shocked, and claiming an unprecedented affront to the First Amendment, last night when Jimmy Kimmel, who has hosted his late night talk show for over 20 years, was abruptly yanked from ABC’s broadcast over comments he made about the GOP’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The moment became especially bone-chilling when Donald Trump, freshly done with his attendance at the Windsor Castle State Banquet, gloated over the indefinite cancellation of the show, threatening that Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are “next,” while FCC chairman Brendan Carr, meant to be an independent, non-partisan regulator, similarly celebrated the move.

The veteran late night talk show host’s program did not air last night; in its place, ABC aired repeat episodes of Steve Harvey’s Celebrity Family Feud. Per Variety, a memo sent to the owners of ABC’s more than 150 affiliate station partners addressed the explosive shake-up, indicating that Celebrity Family Feud would air on Jimmy’s 11:35pm slot for at least Wednesday and Thursday, and beyond that, “formal guidance from Disney/ABC is forthcoming.”

Jimmy’s elimination from ABC’s broadcast was for the most part kickstarted when Nexstar, a powerful station group with 32 ABC affiliate stations, announced it would not air Jimmy’s show, shortly after which ABC suspended production of the show indefinitely. Sinclair, another massive station group that has long had a reputation for having a politically conservative tilt, went one step further with their banning of Jimmy’s show.

In a statement, vice chairman Jason Smith said: “Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country.” The statement added that it will not lift the suspension of the show “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”

Moreover, the media conglomerate is urging Jimmy to not only “issue a direct apology to the Kirk family,” but also to “make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” the late far-right activist’s nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. Friday on its ABC stations, it will replace Jimmy’s timeslot with a tribute to Charlie.

“We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks,” Sinclair’s statement further read.

It seemingly refers to the FCC chairman’s comments to fellow right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that preempted ABC’s Kimmel axing. He called Jimmy’s comments about Charlie’s death “the sickest conduct possible,” and threatened: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” noting: “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Jimmy’s exact comments were: “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, and doing everything they can to score political points from it … And in between the finger pointing, there was grieving on Friday. The White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level you can see how hard the president is taking this.” It then cuts to a video of Trump deflecting a question about his longtime ally’s death, and changing the subject to construction of his new $200 million ballroom he’s building at the White House. “It’s going to be a beauty.”