Developing: Affiliates Hold Kimmel Show Hostage, Will Only Release Once He Apologizes to Erika Kirk

Not only could “indefinite” suspension not have happened to a better person than Jimmy Kimmel, it looks like his forced hiatus ending will be contingent on affiliate stations who are demanding an apology from the late-night host.

As you may have heard by now, Kimmel has been placed on leave after false comments he made about the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s shooting — namely, that he was a conservative.

“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,” Kimmel said during his Monday monologue, despite evidence that accused shooter Tyler Robinson was a leftist.

He also decided to mock President Donald Trump’s grief: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish,” he said.

Jimmy Kimmel claims “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 “This is not how an adult… pic.twitter.com/KMhnskaYWD

— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 16, 2025

After pressure from conservatives — including Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr — ABC announced Wednesday that the bit had earned Kimmel an indefinite time-out.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely,” a spokesman for the network told CNN.

Now, normally, this would just be an occasion for Kimmel to lie low for a few week then come back, issue some sort of pro forma grumbling apology, and get on with it.

The problem is, two of ABC’s biggest affiliate station owners had already said they would pre-empt his show before the suspension — and one says it’ll continue to do it until Kimmel gives a full-throated apology.

“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” Jason Smith, the vice chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, America’s largest ABC affiliate owner, said in a news release from the company.

“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 will air a tribute to Charlie Kirk in the show’s place on Friday, but beyond that, their statement after ABC’s decision made it clear that the show wasn’t returning to air without Kimmel saying he’s sorry — and meaning it.

From the media release:

Sinclair will not lift the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.

Sinclair also calls upon Mr. Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family. Furthermore, we ask Mr. Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.

Regardless of ABC’s plans for the future of the program, Sinclair intends not to return “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to our air until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.

Nexstar, which owns the other affiliate group that nixed the show, didn’t speak out after the network suspended Kimmel, but the president of its broadcasting division made it clear they weren’t happy with Kimmel.

Andrew Alford said that the remarks were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse” and that the network did “not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

ABC has about 250 affiliates nationwide. Nexstar and Sinclair operate over 60 of them. Assuming Nexstar follows suit and waits for an apology, that means if Kimmel even comes back quietly, sans apology, roughly a quarter of the network’s affiliates won’t be airing the show.

Given the money-losing nature of late-night TV, ABC isn’t likely to be thrilled — at the very least — to be paying $16 million a year for a host whose show isn’t seen on one out of every four of its affiliates because of his verbal incontinence, to say nothing of the 50 percent of America he’s alienated with his political stridency.

Ergo, it looks like Kimmel has a binary choice if ABC decides to let him back: apologize for an inflammatory lie or lie himself out of a job. I’m not sure which one would make everyone involved look worse, but darned if I won’t be thrilled to see them try and hit rock bottom. Kimmel lied about the death of a husband and a father of two — as well as who killed him. What did he, and everyone around him, expect would happen?

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