US President Donald Trump took a dig at Jimmy Kimmel, commenting that the late-night host has 'zero talent' after Walt Disney Co.’s ABC network announced it is taking 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' off the air indefinitely. The decision follows backlash to remarks the Kimmel made about the killing of Republican activist Charlie Kirk. The move also comes just weeks after CBS announced it was ending its late-night show hosted by another Trump critic Stephen Colbert.
Trump celebrated the cancellation in a TruthSocial post, in which he wrote, "Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done."
Trump further took a dig on Jimmy Kimmel, and wrote "Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible."
"That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT," he further added.
On Sept. 15, Kimmel, who has been a vocal critic of Trump, accused Republicans of using Kirk’s death to criticise their opponents. "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them," Kimmel he said during his monologue.
The comments triggered outrage among conservative commentators and drew rebukes from members of the Trump administration.
Disney said in a statement that Kimmel's suspension would begin with Wednesday’s broadcast, but gave no indication of when or if the show might return. The announcement came shortly after Nexstar Media Group Inc., which owns numerous ABC TV affiliates, said it would pull the show indefinitely, calling Kimmel's remarks "offensive and insensitive."
Kimmel, who has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live since 2003, is one of the longest-serving late-night talk-show personalities. He began his career as a radio host in Seattle, later moving to Tampa, Tucson, and eventually, Los Angeles. In recent years, he has scaled back his workload, often taking summers off. His current contract with ABC is set to expire in less than a year.
In July, CBS announced it was axing Stephen Colbert's late-night show, citing high production costs at a time when its parent Paramount Global was seeking FCC approval for its takeover by Skydance Media.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
POPULAR