Former US President Barack Obama said the Trump administration is taking “cancel culture” to a “new and dangerous level”, as he weighed in on the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show for comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s killing.
Obama took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday (Friday morning AEST) saying it’s “precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent”.
However Trump argued Kimmel’s show was pulled because of “bad ratings”.
Kimmel’s late-night talk show has been taken off the air indefinitely on Thursday AEST, after the TV host and frequent Trump critic accused the MAGA movement of scoring political points off the death of Kirk.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be pre-empted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson told CNN, declining to share any further details.
Kimmel suggested during his Monday evening monologue that the suspect in Kirk’s killing, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican.
Authorities say the 22-year-old grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but his parents told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year.
Obama said the current administration had complained for years about “cancel culture” from the left, but is now “routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.”
The former president shared a news report about how the FCC chairman had said he could hold ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.
When Trump was asked about the move during a press conference on day two of his UK state visit, he said Kimmel was “fired for lack of talent”.
“He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago,” Trump said.
”So, you know, you could call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.”
Before adding: “And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk”.
The president was asked if free speech is more under attack in Britain or the United States. He repeated his view that Kimmel isn’t talented.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” Trump wrote.
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. 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”.
Kimmel has sharply criticised Trump and Trump’s administration in many of his routines.
Sudden suspension shocks staff — and celebrity guests en route to show
According to a source with knowledge of the events, Kimmel’s staff members had been working as usual on Wednesday afternoon, holding calls with talent publicists regarding upcoming episodes just before the decision was announced.
Numerous Hollywood publicists, producers, media executives who spoke with CNN on Wednesday evening expressed their astonishment over the suspension.
“We are all shell-shocked,” one celebrity publicist told CNN.
“I cannot believe this is real life,” a studio publicist said.
Comedian Wanda Sykes, who was to be a guest on Wednesday night’s show, said: “For those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it.”
Staffers inside ABC were also stunned by the move. Kimmel’s ties to the network run deep. His show has been on for more than two decades, and Kimmel’s wife, Molly McNearney, is the head writer and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
A source familiar with the fluid and fast-moving situation told CNN that Jimmy Kimmel Live! has not been cancelled, but added there is no timeline as to when the show may return.
Kimmel’s abrupt suspension came after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show from its 23 ABC affiliates starting on Wednesday.
In a statement, the president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, Andrew Alford, said Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” but he didn’t specify which comments he found objectionable.
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) chairman also weighed in, calling Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and saying his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.
“Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest,” FCC chairman Brendan Carr said.
“While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.”
There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. In its statement announcing the Kimmel show’s suspension, ABC didn’t cite a reason.
