Kimmel Staffer Reveals Whether Show Will Return, Melts Down On MAGA
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show may never return to the airwaves, according to an insider on his dwindling team, after the host was suspended for spreading a falsehood about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The longtime ABC host went off the rails last Monday when he claimed on air that Kirk’s suspected killer was a Trump supporter — a statement prosecutors and law enforcement officials quickly debunked, confirming instead that the shooter held leftist views.
Disney executives yanked Kimmel’s show off the air by Wednesday. ABC insiders say the move may be permanent.
Staffer: “It Will Never Be Enough”
Speaking anonymously to Too Much TV newsletter writer Rick Ellis, a Kimmel staffer lashed out at conservatives and expressed doubt that the program will survive.
“I want to think it will. But I can’t imagine a scenario in which that happens,” the staffer admitted. “Even if Jimmy was willing to publicly apologize and donate money to whatever ghoulish conservative group that is demanding it… MAGA people will never be happy. It will never be enough.”
Another insider said Disney executives feared advertiser backlash and affiliate revolts. “I had zero faith that any of the network execs had the slightest bit of stones to stand up for their employees,” they added.
FCC Chairman Weighs Investigation
Kimmel’s smear didn’t just spark outrage online. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told conservative host Benny Johnson that his agency is weighing whether to investigate Kimmel and ABC.
“When you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel, it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible,” Carr said. He suggested suspending Kimmel may be among the “remedies” considered, and warned that ABC’s broadcast license could even be at risk.
Carr noted that falsely attributing political motivations in a high-profile murder case crosses serious regulatory lines.
Disney’s Breaking Point
Reports indicate that ABC co-chair Dana Walden personally informed Kimmel of his suspension after the host refused to apologize. Sources said Kimmel told executives he would not “kowtow” to conservatives, even as Sinclair and Nexstar — two of the largest broadcast groups syndicating ABC content — threatened to pull programming in some markets.
The staffer compared the experience to being constantly targeted:
“The Trump folks are like that crooked cop who wants to pull over a driver and waits until they make some slight mistake. That’s our show. We were always a running stop away from unemployment.”
A Rough Week Gets Worse
The controversy has left Kimmel politically isolated and professionally vulnerable. While his allies portray him as a victim of conservative backlash, critics argue his downfall is self-inflicted — the result of years of partisan cheap shots that alienated half the country.
ABC now faces a choice: reinstate a host who has become a liability, or pay out his contract and move on. As one staffer bluntly put it: “Disney will look at the situation and decide it’s cheaper to buy out the rest of his contract and replace the show with reruns of Modern Family and Judge Judy.”
Either way, the Kimmel era of late-night “comedy” appears to be ending with a whimper.