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Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed ABC’s decision to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air following the late-night host’s controversial remarks about the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
“Corrupt, despicable, & spineless behavior,” Newsom’s press office account posted on X Wednesday. “A coordinated effort to control the media is happening before our eyes & it needs to be called out.”
On his personal account, the governor added that Republicans were “buying and controlling media platforms. Firing commentators. Canceling shows. These aren’t coincidences. It’s coordinated. And it’s dangerous. The GOP does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”
FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR DEFENDS ABC AFFILIATES PULLING JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW AFTER MONOLOGUE MOCKING CHARLIE KIRK
Disney, ABC’s parent company, confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that Kimmel’s show, which is based in Los Angeles, would be pulled “indefinitely.”
Nexstar Media Group, which owns hundreds of television stations, announced in a press release it would preempt Kimmel’s show on its ABC affiliates starting Wednesday night “for the foreseeable future” and would replace it with other programming over his comments about Kirk’s alleged assassin. Sinclair Broadcast Group followed suit.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views or values of the local communities in which we are located,” Nexstar’s broadcasting chief, Andrew Alford, said in a press release.
On Monday, Kimmel accused conservatives of reaching “new lows” in trying to pin a left-wing ideology on 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson, even though prosecutors reaffirmed those ties in Tuesday’s indictment.
TRUMP CALLS DISNEY PULLING JIMMY KIMMEL’S SHOW ‘GREAT NEWS FOR AMERICA’
Following Kimmel’s comments, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr issued a warning against Disney if the media giant failed to address the controversy.
Carr called Kimmel’s comments “some of the sickest conduct” and suggested there were potential “avenues” the FCC could pursue during a Wednesday appearance on “The Benny Show.”
Nexstar and Sinclair soon after announced they were preempting Kimmel’s programs on their stations, and Disney then announced Wednesday night it was yanking the show indefinitely.
Critics of ABC’s decision argued that Kimmel’s show was pulled due to politics and that the move would have a chilling effect on free speech.
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Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker echoed a similar message to Newsom, slamming the decision as an “undemocratic act” intended to silence the voices President Donald Trump doesn’t like.
“A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say,” he wrote on X Wednesday. “This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand. All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.”
Conversely, Trump took to social media to celebrate the show’s suspension on Wednesday, congratulating ABC on their decision.
“Great News for America,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. 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.”
Fox News Digital reached out to ABC for comment.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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