The Indefinite Suspension of Jimmy Kimmel

What Happened, Why, and What It Says About America's Polarized Politics

America loves a spectacle, and boy, did ABC deliver one. On September 17, 2025, the network announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was being yanked off the air “indefinitely.” Not “two weeks.” Not “pending review.” Indefinitely. Which, in corporate-speak, usually translates to: pack up the desk toys, Jimmy, you’re done.

The trigger? Comments Kimmel made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. ABC didn’t call it a firing (lawyers hate that word), but between the FCC breathing down their neck, advertisers sharpening their knives, and affiliates screaming bloody murder, it looks like this might be the end of Kimmel’s two-decade run on network TV.

Here’s the breakdown: what he said, how the fallout hit, the money involved, what’s next, and why this whole thing says more about our broken politics than it does about one late-night comedian.