Late-night talk show hosts defend Jimmy Kimmel after show suspended 'indefinitely' for Charlie Kirk comments

ABC has faced a backlash after it pulled the comedian's late-night talk show off the air following remarks made during Monday's episode.

The host, 57, said the "MAGA gang" was trying to score political points from the right-wing influencer's shooting and compared Donald Trump's reaction to "how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish".

He also used his opening speech to criticise flags being flown at half- mast in Kirk's honour, which infuriated Brendan Carr, chair of the US communications regulator, who led calls for the Disney-owned network to pull the presenter.

After the broadcaster announced that Kimmel's show had been "pre-empted indefinitely", Kimmel's peers took to their own talk shows on Thursday to condemn the decision and Trump's administration.

The president - who had openly criticised cancel culture in the past - had earlier called Kimmel's removal from TV "great news for America".

Read more: Key takeaways as Trump leaves UK after unprecedented second state visit

Jimmy Fallon opened his NBC show by calling Kimmel a “decent, funny and loving guy”, before poking fun at the US leader by telling the audience he would cover the his trip to the UK just like he normally would.

He then began to speak, but was interrupted by an off-screen voiceover praising Donald Trump.

On Comedy Central, Jon Stewart's Daily Show forensically detailed what he called the hypocrisy of Trump officials and conservative commentators.

He played clips of Trump and House speaker Mike Johnson criticising opponents for labelling the president and his movement “fascist”, before showing footage of Trump himself calling Democrats fascists, Joe Biden an “enemy of the state” and Nancy Pelosi an “animal”.

Stewart added that "only a bad person would celebrate violence or make crass jokes about it", counteracting the statement with clips of Trump and others making light of the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband at her San Francisco home in 2022.

NBC late-night host Seth Meyers also made light of fears that he might be next in line to be canceled for mocking the president.

A long time antagonist of Trump, Meyers said in his opening monologue: "His administration is pursuing a crack down on free speech… completely unrelated, I just want to say before we get started here that I’ve always admired and respected Mr Trump.

"I’ve always believed he was, no, no, so, a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer. And if you’ve ever seen me say anything negative about him, that’s just AI."

Fallon and Meyers had already felt the wrath of Trump's words during his social media post about Kimmel's cancelation.

The president wrote: "The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done"

He then described the other two comedians as: "Two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible."

Stephen Colbert, who's CBS show was cancelled in July after Colbert publicly criticised his parent company's settlement with Trump, also weighed in on the issue.

In his opening monologue, the host of The Late Show called out ABC's decision as a "blatant assault on freedom of speech"

Kimmel has yet to comment on his "indefinite suspension", remaining silent as he emerged from the Los Angeles television studio shortly after ABC's announcement.

Reports suggest representatives of Disney and Kimmel raced to find the right words on Wednesday to calm a social media furore that had erupted after his remarks.

Both sides were looking to prepare a statement after death threats were sent to the comedian and his staff, a source said.

But Kimmel and Disney representatives could not find language they could agree on, leading TV bosses to take the show off the air and bring Kimmel back at later date.

Kimmel had condemned the attack on Kirk on the day it happened, sending "love" to his family via Instagram.

Tyler Robinson, 22, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with aggravated murder over last week's shooting of the 31-year-old political activist.

No motive has been determined in Kirk's fatal shooting, but charging documents show the suspect's mother "explained that over the last year or so, he had become political and started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented".

Robinson was not registered to any political party and did not vote in the 2020 or 2024 elections, authorities say.

Kimmel's monologue also infuriated Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who said Kimmel had displayed "the sickest conduct possible".

The Trump appointee said: "[Broadcasters] have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest."

But The Writers Guild of America (WGA), Hollywood's labour union, said the decision to take Kimmel off air was a violation of constitutional free speech rights.

"Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth," it said in a statement.

The move was also slammed by union Sag-Aftra, who said it was a "type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone's freedoms".

Fans of the show were also outraged, with an estimated 200 to 300 people protested outside Disney’s headquarters in Burbank on Thursday afternoon.

Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, announced on Wednesday it would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! "for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight's show".

Bosses at the broadcaster said Kimmel's remarks were "offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse".

"[We] do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located," said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division.

An ABC source stressed that Kimmel had not been fired and network chiefs bosses intended to speak to him about what he should say when he goes back on air.