FROM FOX NEWS: ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel reportedly refused to apologize for remarks that landed him in hot water and planned to further tear into Donald Trump supporters, insisting they “purposefully twisted” his words, before he was taken off the air by Disney executives.
Disney on Wednesday sidelined Kimmel “indefinitely” on the heels of controversial comments the late-night host made about the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk. The move came as Disney faced mounting pressure from ABC affiliate stations around the country, as well as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), setting off a national debate around free speech and alleged censorship.
Kimmel had planned to address the controversy in his Wednesday monologue, according to The Wall Street Journal. But Disney Entertainment co-Chair Dana Walden, a top Kimmel ally, believed his planned remarks “could make the situation worse.”
According to WSJ, Kimmel “was planning to say that his words were being purposefully twisted by some members of the Make America Great Again movement.”
A source told CNN that Kimmel’s planned monologue was “very hot” and that he needed to take “down the temperature.”
That’s when Walden and Disney CEO Bob Iger made the decision to bench Kimmel, sources told FOX BUSINESS.
Nexstar, the owner of 32 ABC affiliate stations, announced it would preempt his show “for the foreseeable future,” and Sinclair Broadcast Group followed suit, removing the show from its ABC affiliates and telling Kimmel to apologize.
Kimmel “was not planning on apologizing” and “felt that what he said did not require an apology,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Disney did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment before this story was published.
Meanwhile, X users are flooding the platform with news, opinions, and commentary on the subject. Examples follow.
ON THE MOVE: A slew of moving trucks were spotted at the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" studio just one day after ABC pulled the show off the air over the host's comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination. pic.twitter.com/iw9SIVitgE
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 19, 2025
Jimmy Kimmel didn’t get pulled for being “mean to the right” he was pulled because he *knowingly* made a false statement, violating the FCC’s rules (I imagine against defamation), & then refused to issue a statement/apology about it.
He risked ABC’s license & got put in time out. pic.twitter.com/VAnZCKqzTL— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) September 18, 2025
No one banned Jimmy Kimmel from every major social media app.
That happened to Trump.No one conspired to put Jimmy Kimmel in jail.
That happened to Trump.No one fired a bullet at Jimmy Kimmel.
That happened to Trump.
And Charlie.What happened to Kimmel is that his corporate… pic.twitter.com/ItpxNyaBrP
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 18, 2025
As someone who knows all about getting punished by Disney/ABC/ESPN…my take on Jimmy Kimmel. pic.twitter.com/xbk1K922D4
— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) September 19, 2025
Celebrities think it's an assault on free speech for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel.
But they said nothing when Biden was censoring Americans online for telling the truth.
They're full of it. pic.twitter.com/ikLbrNxVga
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) September 19, 2025
"Jimmy Kimmel getting fired for what he said is the largest attack on free speech ever!!"
Odd because here's a small taste of the celebrities cancelled the last 10 years by the same people crying right now. pic.twitter.com/oC69WWLGc9
— Paul (@WomanDefiner) September 18, 2025
I did my best last night 🤷 But the fact is that 60 local ABC stations became fed up with the Kimmel show & took action.
Kimmel routinely angers viewers with his lies & progressive politics, & you can’t sell ads in it because the ratings suck. It isn’t a free speech issue; it’s… pic.twitter.com/IuZMF1fCO3
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 19, 2025
Everyone should take a moment to thank the brave local broadcast stations that finally stood up to ABC and Disney on behalf of their viewers.
Jimmy Kimmel would be gloating on-air tonight if it weren’t for privately owned stations across America.
See, ABC is just the… pic.twitter.com/CNs6T9zjNo
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 19, 2025
January, 2024. After Aaron Rodgers insinuated that Jimmy Kimmel might be on some Epstein list, Kimmel responded by saying that you can't just make stuff up about people.
Kimmel: "We don't make up lies. We have a team of people who work very hard to sift through facts before I… pic.twitter.com/tnL1KfBTmL
— MAZE (@mazemoore) September 18, 2025
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