Disney's ABC has taken Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show off air 'indefinitely' following backlash over the host's comments about the motives behind conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's killing.
During his monologue on Monday, Kimmel addressed the killing and criticised attempts by Trump supporters to politicise the case.
'We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it,' Kimmel said.
'MAGA' is shorthand for Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement. Kirk, a close ally of Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event at a Utah university campus.
Police said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson fired a rifle from a rooftop, hitting Kirk in the neck with a single bullet. Robinson was arrested shortly after the incident and has been formally charged with murder.
According to Variety, Nexstar said its owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will pre-empt airings of Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future.
The company strongly objected to comments made by Kimmel on Charlie Kirk's killing and will replace the show with other ABC programmes.
According to Variety, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr vowed to take action against ABC over Kimmel's comments. After the company's decision to take the show off, Carr said he wanted 'to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing' in a statement on social media.
'Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. 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.'
Meanwhile, the White House has announced it will pursue what it described as a left-wing 'domestic terror movement' in response to Kirk's death. The move has raised concerns among critics that the initiative could be used to curb political dissent.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 'visa revocations are underway' for foreigners who are celebrating Kirk's assassination and said 'America will not host foreigners who celebrate the death of our fellow citizens'.
Speaking to Fox News, Rubio noted that America must not allow people who justify or celebrate such killings to enter or remain in the country.
'We should not be giving visas to people who are going to come to the United States and do things like celebrate the murder, the execution, the assassination of a political figure. And if they're already here, we should be revoking their visa.'
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