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Tag: Sinclair

  • Colorado drivers still dealing with diesel mixup, more than 400 complaints filed

    DENVER — More than 400 complaints have been filed with Colorado’s Division of Oil and Public Safety (OPS) after contaminated fuel containing diesel was distributed to several gas stations across the Denver metro area last week.

    While the investigation remains ongoing, the state’s latest update suggests progress has been made. A spokesperson for OPS said Tuesday, “So far our findings suggest that all contaminated fuel has been replaced with good fuel.”

    Read the full statement from Colorado’s Division of Oil and Public Safety below:

    As of Tuesday, January 13, 2026, our investigation into the contaminated fuel remains ongoing. So far our findings suggest that all contaminated fuel has been replaced with good fuel. We continue to process complaints, visit sites, inspect fuel and work with owners to ensure they are honoring their customers’ claims. We expect to release more detailed information later this week after we complete more site visits.

    Division of Oil and Public Safety

    But Denver area drivers are still dealing with the fallout from the mess up.

    Check out a map of impacted King Soopers and Safeway gas stations below:

    Highlands Ranch resident Karen Hashemi said her car started “acting poorly” after filling up at a King Soopers gas station in Parker last week.

    “Surging, losing power and pouring out clouds of black smoke out of the back,” Hashemi told Denver7 when describing her cars symptoms.

    After getting her car towed to a shop for inspection, Hashemi learned she was a victim of Colorado’s costly fuel mix-up that has affected hundreds of drivers across the Denver metro area.

    Anaya Salcedo

    Pictured: Karen Hashemi, filled up with contaminated fuel

    “Not having that other vehicle impairs my family’s ability to do anything,” Hashemi said.

    Repair shops like Hotchkiss Auto along E Colfax Ave. are still taking calls from concerned customers dealing with vehicle damage.

    Manager Cody Leach said the longer contaminated fuel runs through a vehicle’s system, the more expensive repairs become.

    “Flushing out the entire system, I would say at the very least, you’re probably going to be looking at $1,000,” Leach said.

    CODY LEACH.jpg

    Anaya Salcedo

    Pictured: Cody Leach, manager at Hotchkiss Auto Repair

    For drivers whose cars are out of commission, consumer protection attorney Dan Vedra of Vedra Law LLC told Denver7 affected customers have the right to be made whole again.

    “They have a right to damages and compensation for having been harmed,” Vedra said.

    Vedra said documentation is the first step for consumers seeking compensation. He recommends taking screenshots of receipts and keeping track of any expenses related to the loss of a vehicle.

    “Don’t take no for an answer,” Vedra said. “If their car is not being fixed and their insurance isn’t covering it because they don’t have the correct coverage for that, then we need to be looking at the retailers, and we need to be looking at the distributor who caused this problem.”

    The issue traces back to fuel loaded at the HF Sinclair terminal in Henderson on Thursday and Friday.

    GAS STATION.jpg

    Denver7

    While Hashemi waits to get her car back from the shop, she’s sharing advice for others impacted by the fuel mixup.

    “Call and call and document,” Hashemi said. “Just looking forward to a resolution.”

    claire image bar.jpg

    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Claire Lavezzorio

    Denver7’s Claire Lavezzorio covers topics that have an impact across Colorado, but specializes in reporting on stories in the military and veteran communities. If you’d like to get in touch with Claire, fill out the form below to send her an email.

    Claire Lavezzorio

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  • Jimmy Kimmel Returns as Sinclair Ends Blackout After Backlash

    After days of silence and mounting criticism, Sinclair ended its blackout and put Jimmy Kimmel Live! back on air for millions of ABC households.

    Jimmy Kimmel at the 96th Annual Oscars held at Dolby Theatre on March 10
    Credit: (Photo by Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

    When loyal viewers tuned into Jimmy Kimmel Live! This week, many were met with an empty slot instead of the late-night host’s trademark monologues and celebrity appearances. For millions of households that are served by Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group’s ABC affiliates, Kimmel simply vanished from the air.

    This disappearance wasn’t caused by a production hiccup or contract dispute. But rather, Sinclair quietly blacked out the show after Kimmel made comments about Donald Trump and the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk – remarks critics labeled as insensitive, which sparked swift backlash. In a rare move, one of the nation’s largest broadcast networks indefinitely pulled the plug on the program that has aired for more than two decades now, triggering an outcry far beyond Kimmel’s fan base.

    The blackout of the show was trending across all social media platforms, with hashtags demanding Kimmel’s return trended for days. Maybe people accused Sinclair of crossing a dangerous line, arguing that private cooperation was deciding what millions of people could and could not watch. The FCC even signaled interest in reviewing that decision, mentioning concerns about free expression. 

    By Friday, after pulling the show, the pressure from the public was impossible to ignore. Sinclair announced it would reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live! starting with Friday evening’s broadcast, ending the blackout and restoring the late-night staple to its regular slot on air.

    In a brief statement, the company framed the move as a resolution of “viewer concerns,” but offered little to no explanation for its initial decision.

    For Kimmel, the return marks a continuation of a 22-year run defined by political satire and cultural commentary. For viewers, it is proof that public pushback still has power and matters. But the blackout has also cracked open an unsettling debate – if one late-night host can be silenced, even briefly, what does that mean for the future of television in an age of polarizing and corporate influence?

    Melissa Houston

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  • Nexstar And Sinclair Bring Jimmy Kimmel’s Show Back On Local TV Stations, Ending Boycotts – KXL

    NEW YORK (AP) — Nexstar Media Group joined Sinclair Broadcast Group in bringing Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show back to its local TV stations on Friday night, ending a dayslong TV blackout for dozens of cities across the U.S.

    The companies suspended the program over remarks the comedian made in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing. The move means “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to local TV on Nexstar’s ABC affiliates in 28 cities, along with the 38 stations where Sinclair agreed to restore the show.

    The show will also return to Sinclair’s local TV markets from Seattle to Washington, D.C.

    Disney-owned ABC suspended Kimmel on Sept. 17, following threats of potential repercussions from the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission. Sinclair also condemned the host — confirming that it would stop airing the show the same day.

    The Maryland-based broadcast giant, which is known for conservative political content, called on Kimmel at the time to apologize to Kirk’s family — and taking it a step further, asked him to “make a meaningful personal donation” to Turning Point USA, the nonprofit that Kirk founded.

    On the day Kirk was killed, Kimmel shared a message of support for Kirk’s family and other victims of gun violence on social media, which he reiterated during his Tuesday return to ABC. He had also called the conservative activist’s assassination a “senseless murder” prior to being taken off air.

    Kimmel’s original comments didn’t otherwise focus on Kirk. He instead lambasted President Donald Trump and his administration’s response to the killing. The comedian did not apologize on Tuesday, but did say “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man” and acknowledged that to some, his comments “felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both.”

    He also used a blend of humor and pointed messages to emphasize the importance of free speech.

    Even after Disney brought Kimmel back to its national airways, both Sinclair and Nexstar continued to preempt the show.

    New episodes of the show air Monday through Thursday. Friday night’s rerun will be of Tuesday’s show — so viewers of Sinclair stations can see Kimmel’s emotional return to the air.

    In its statement Friday, Sinclair pointed to its “responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming.”

    The company, which operates 38 ABC-affiliated stations, added that it had received “thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives,” and noticed “troubling acts of violence,” referencing the shooting into the lobby of a Sacramento station.

    “These events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important,” Sinclair added.

    As a result of Sinclair and Nexstar’s boycott, viewers in cities representing roughly a quarter of ABC’s local TV affiliates had been left without the late-night program on local TV. The blackouts escalated nationwide uproar around First Amendment protections — particularly as the Trump administration and other conservatives police speech after Kirk’s killing. They also cast a spotlight on political influence in the media landscape, with critics lambasting companies that they accuse of censoring content.

    Ahead of his suspension, Kimmel took aim at the president and his “MAGA gang” of supporters for their response to Kirk’s killing, which Kimmel said included “finger-pointing” and attempts to characterize the alleged shooter as “anything other than one of them.”

    These remarks angered many supporters of Kirk — as well as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who accused Kimmel of appearing to “directly mislead the American public” with his remarks about the man accused of the killing. Ahead of Kimmel’s suspension, Carr warned that Disney and ABC’s local affiliates could face repercussions if the comedian was not punished.

    He later applauded Sinclair, as well as Nexstar, for their decisions to preempt the show.

    On Sept. 17, Sinclair Vice Chairman Jason Smith called Kimmel’s comments “inappropriate and deeply insensitive” and said that ABC’s suspension wasn’t enough. Smith added that Sinclair appreciated Carr’s comments — and called for “immediate regulatory action” from the FCC “to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”

    Still, in Friday’s announcement, Sinclair maintained that its decision to preempt Kimmel’s show was “independent of any government interaction or influence,” Sinclair’s statement Friday read, adding that broadcasters had the right to exercise their own judgment.

    While local TV affiliates broadcast their own programming, such as local news, they also contract with larger national broadcasters — and pay them to air their national content, splitting advertising revenue and fees from cable companies.

    Sinclair said “constructive” discussions with ABC were ongoing, and said its proposals to the network to strengthen accountability, feedback and dialogue and appoint an ombudsman had not yet been adopted.

    Representatives for ABC declined to comment on Friday.

    Matthew Dolgin, senior equity analyst at research firm Morningstar, said he wasn’t surprised by Sinclair’s decision.

    “The relationship with Disney is far too important for these firms to risk,” Dolgin said. And setting aside legal rights from either side, he added, “Disney would’ve been free to take its affiliate agreements elsewhere in 2026 if these relationships were too difficult. That scenario would be devastating to Nexstar and Sinclair.”

    Jordan Vawter

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  • Sinclair Backs Down, Will Resume Airing ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on Local Stations

    In a classic Friday news dump move, Sinclair announced that it will end its unofficial boycott of Jimmy Kimmel and will once again broadcast the comedian’s late-night show, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ to its ABC affiliate broadcast stations, ending its completely principled and not at all politically motivated stance to pre-empt the show after all of two days.

    “Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience,” the company said in a statement. “We take seriously our responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming.”

    Sinclair—which operates 30 ABC affiliate stations in 27 markets, including cities like Portland, Baltimore, and Minneapolis—announced last week that it would choose to air “news programming” in place of Kimmel’s show, which returned to the air Tuesday after a brief hiatus. The program, which was briefly suspended by ABC after Kimmel made a frankly pretty innocuous comment about the political ideology of the person who allegedly shot and killed conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in Utah earlier this month.

    Sinclair, along with fellow media conglomerate Nexstar, announced they would pull Kimmel’s show from the air following a statement from Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr, who warned broadcasters, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” and said, “These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

    Both companies currently have business in front of the FCC and are pretty motivated to show fealty to the Trump administration to ensure their deals get pushed through—not that they need that much motivation, considering both companies are owned by conservative-aligned media magnates. Sinclair CEO David Smith has been shifting its editorial coverage to the right for years, and Smith reportedly told Trump in 2016, “We are here to deliver your message.” Likewise, Nexstar chairman Perry Sook has repeatedly praised Trump and poured money into the coffers of GOP groups.

    Sinclair attempted to get in front of the obvious criticisms that it would face as a result of both its initial decision not to broadcast ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and its latest call to bring him back to the airwaves in Sinclair markets.

    “Our decision to preempt this program was independent of any government interaction or influence,” the company said. “Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations. While we understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions about programming, it is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.” It apparently took the company a solid week to remember that commitment to free speech, but it got there.

    The reality is that Sinclair was going to back down eventually, if only for legal reasons. As a broadcast executive explained to Deadline, local affiliates contractually can only preempt a program so many times before it breaks the contract and loses the ability to broadcast the show entirely. Sinclair’s “principled stance” was destined to last for exactly as long as it didn’t actually cost them anything and likely not a second longer.

    Once word started spreading that Disney might threaten to withhold live sports broadcasts from affiliates who pulled Kimmel, it was only a matter of time before Sinclair suddenly found its unwavering belief in “free speech” again. There may be a subset of people pissed off that Kimmel is back on Sinclair’s airwaves, but you can bet even more would be pissed if they couldn’t watch LSU play Ole Miss on Saturday. That would hurt Sinclair’s real primary principle: always maximize profits.

    AJ Dellinger

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  • Jimmy Kimmel Makes STRONG Late-Night Return With Messages Of Freedom & Unity – WATCH! – Perez Hilton

    Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air!

    The late-night TV host marked Tuesday night as his return to the airwaves after that abrupt suspension last week following comments he made about the death of conservative political pundit Charlie Kirk.

    Fans have been waiting to see what would happen upon the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! to ABC. And even though Tuesday’s comeback wasn’t aired on all ABC affiliates across the country, the episode still marked a momentous occasion for Jimmy, his staff, and his viewers — oh, and social media users, too, of course.

    Related: John Oliver BLASTS ‘Cowards’ At ABC & Disney Over Kimmel Suspension!

    Tuesday night’s guests were actor Glen Powell and musical guest Sarah McLachlan. And look, no shade intended towards them, but… nobody was there to see them do their thing. Nahhhh, everybody tuned in to see what Kimmel would say about getting pulled off air!

    So, without further ado, here we go…

    Kimmel entered the studio to ROARING applause, with the audience giving him a standing ovation, chanting “Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy,” and more. See for yourself:

    He thanked them for their support, then started his comeback monologue by joking:

    “If you’re just joining us, we are preempting a regularly scheduled encore episode of Celebrity Family Feud to bring you this special report.

    The 57-year-old comedian then referenced RFK Jr.’s “autism announcement” that was dropped on Monday, quipping:

    “I’m not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol.”

    By the way, experts have largely refuted the MAHA claim that the only doctor-approved painkiller for pregnant women is a cause for autism, but we digress…

    He continued:

    “It’s been overwhelming. I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last six days. I’ve heard from all the people all over the world, over the last reached out 10 or 11 times, weird characters from my past, or the guy who fired me from my first radio job in Seattle, not airing tonight by the way.”

    He also thanked right wing voices like Ted Cruz‘s that warned against such retaliation and what it means for the first amendment.

    “It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration. They did and they deserve credit for it.”

    Kimmel then made it extremely clear his intention was to never make light of Kirk’s death, saying:

    “I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make.”

    Remember, he never actually made a joke about the death of Kirk. In fact, he strongly condemned the assassination the day it happened and sent his sincere condolences to the family. No, he was pulled over his comments about the gunman and the right wing reaction to it all.

    Regardless, he still knows it was wrong and unAmerican for ABC affiliates to respond the way they did, calling out Donald Trump‘s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for publicly saying the network would get pressure regarding Kimmel’s comments when Carr said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” and “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

    Overall the entire monologue was a poignant message of unity for all Americans and our first amendment rights. It was also one for healing. He ended on a note about Erika Kirk‘s speech from the podcaster’s memorial service on Sunday, specifically her public forgiveness for the gunman. Kimmel said that’s what the teachings of Jesus Christ are all about it — forgiveness. Through tears he admitted it touched him deeply, saying “if there is anything we should take from this tragedy, it’s that.”

    Watch it all for yourself (below):

    BTW, Jimmy Kimmel Live! will welcome Ethan Hawke, Lisa Ann Walter, and musical guest Yungblud on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, Peyton Manning, Oscar Nuñez, and musical guest Alex G will show out.

    Reactions, y’all?? Drop ’em (below)!

    [Image via Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube]

    Perez Hilton

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  • Jimmy Kimmel ‘Incredibly Pissed’ Like Never Before After ABC Meeting – And ‘Could Quit’! – Perez Hilton

    It doesn’t sound like Jimmy Kimmel is going to give in anytime soon!

    The late night host is furious over being pulled from the air “indefinitely.” He doesn’t believe his comments about MAGA exploiting Charlie Kirk‘s death were wrong — and reportedly refuses to apologize, not even to save his show.

    According to Puck News, Jimmy had a video call on Thursday with Rob Mills, head of late night at ABC, and Disney TV boss Dana Walden (reportedly the one who made the call to suspend him, along with Disney CEO Bob Iger). Not only was it not in person, he was calling in from his lawyer’s office — if you want to know how adversarial it was. Not surprisingly, they didn’t come to a deal. Might have something to do with ABC affiliate Sinclair demanding both an apology AND a hefty donation to Kirk’s business. A source told The New York Post he was also explicitly asked to back off on his Donald Trump criticism.

    Video: What Did Kimmel Actually Say?

    Well, that was a red line. Because the insider said afterward:

    “Jimmy is incredibly pissed, and he’s a guy who never gets angry.”

    No, we’ve only ever heard about what a nice and generous guy Kimmel is. So he must really believe he’s in the right. So… if neither side backs down, what happens?

    Surprisingly, the source actually thinks ABC and Disney will cave — but it may not be in time with how offended Jimmy is by the whole thing:

    “I think they will reinstate him, but Jimmy could quit.”

    Wow. What do YOU think will happen? What should Disney and ABC do??

    [Image via Starpress/WENN/Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube.]

    Perez Hilton

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  • What Is Disney Thinking?

    “If the goal was to simmer down the temperature, it didn’t. It became volcanic.”
    Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images

    Bob Iger and Disney are used to dealing with all manner of PR crises; it comes with the territory when you’re operating one of the best known and most beloved brands in the world. But what has happened with Jimmy Kimmel over the past 24 hours has been something far different (and scarier) than a mere public-relations kerfuffle: FCC chairman Brendan Carr, a MAGA loyalist, threatened to damage a key part of Disney’s broadcast-TV business if its ABC network didn’t “take action” against Kimmel to address his concerns over a few sentences from his September 15 episode that the right-wing outrage machine had deemed problematic. Within hours, ABC announced that Kimmel’s show was being pulled from its lineup “indefinitely,” his future at the network suddenly became unclear — and Iger’s legacy as CEO was very much at risk.

    Keep in mind the timeline of how this madness has played out: On Monday night, Kimmel delivered his monologue, which included a small, admittedly awkward sentence. On Tuesday, Fox News posted video from the monologue; by Wednesday morning, podcaster Benny Johnson, a key ally of the Trump White House, released a podcast with this YouTube subject line: “Jimmy Kimmel LIES About Charlie Kirk Killer, Blames Charlie For His Murder!? Disney Must Fire Kimmel.” The guest of honor on the pod: Carr, who said ABC could “do this the easy way or the hard way.” The rest played out in front of our eyes last night: Nexstar announced it was pulling Kimmel’s show, Sinclair quickly followed suit, and within 15 minutes, an ABC publicist was texting reporters its now-famous seven-word statement: “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely.”

    This story is far from over, and it is too soon to render judgment about What It All Means. As of Thursday afternoon, Kimmel’s show had not been canceled and he is still an employee of the Walt Disney Company, despite Donald Trump celebrating the comedian’s demise Wednesday night. Indeed, according to a person familiar with the matter, the whole purpose of ABC’s vague statement was to give the network, Kimmel, and ABC’s major-affiliated-station groups time to react to Carr’s threats in a way that ensured the show remained on the air. “There is a desire to find, and folks are working toward, what a path forward looks like for the show,” one Disney insider says of the company’s thinking. Another person familiar with the matter says that Iger and Disney TV boss Dana Walden jointly made the decision to cancel the show’s Wednesday taping, with Walden personally calling Kimmel to deliver the news. Sources say the talks between Kimmel and Disney continued on Thursday with the goal of finding a way for the host to get back on TV “as soon as possible.”

    All this may sound like spin from Disney, and if this ends with Kimmel leaving the network, that is surely how it will be interpreted in many quarters. The courts of social media and punditocracy have already — and somewhat understandably — charged and convicted ABC with bending the knee to the Trump administration. Whatever happens next, there is no taking back the decision to pull Kimmel’s show, for any length of time, in response to a coordinated, deliberate attack on him and ABC by Carr and right-wing influencers and podcasters.

    But you don’t have to excuse what Disney did Wednesday to accept the possibility that the purpose of its actions were not to punish Kimmel but to get through this crisis with Jimmy Kimmel Live! standing. One veteran Hollywood insider not connected to Disney said the utter blandness of ABC’s Wednesday statement is evidence that the company was winging it and essentially stalling for time. “There was not an ounce of spin in what they said,” this person says. “That means they had nothing to say that could please the government, their employees, the affiliates, or talent. And I don’t blame them. I probably would have done the same.”

    While folks on the right celebrated what they deemed a victory, ABC’s move ended up turning a story mostly limited to the right-wing information bubble into international news. Countless Democratic officials, including former president Barack Obama, denounced what had happened; cable news offered nonstop coverage for hours; creators threatened to boycott Disney unless Kimmel returned to the air; Jon Stewart decided he would host a special edition of The Daily Show Thursday to respond. “Now what you have is a cascading effect,” the veteran Hollywood exec says. “If the goal was to simmer down the temperature, it didn’t. It became volcanic.”

    Nobody should be pulling out the violins for Iger or Disney, but U.S. corporations do not have a ton of experience dealing with a government as ruthless and shameless at going after its targets as this Trump White House has been. While Trump’s bluster was plenty loud during his first term, folks like Carr literally wrote a playbook —  Project 2025 — on how to learn from the mistakes of that administration and better execute their vision of America. With Carr, networks now have not an objective regulator, or even someone with a partisan agenda, but something unprecedented in recent history: a mercenary who seems intent on using the regulatory state to serve the personal whims of the president. Trump perceives late-night comedians and network newscasters as his enemies; Carr has gone after both within his first year on the job.

    Even people outside Disney are shocked at what he has done. “Brendan Carr is drunk with power and glee,” a longtime TV-industry executive says. “He’s like the nerd who was bullied in high school, gets power, and has gone crazy with it.” Furthermore, a person familiar with the matter says that as right-wing outrage over Kimmel’s comments grew, employees inside ABC began getting threats to their personal safety. That has factored into Disney’s handling of the situation, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

    Still, it’s not as if Iger & Co. have not had time now to prepare for these sorts of incidents and devise a clear strategy to fight back. Even if this ends with Kimmel back on the air, Iger’s silence has caused at least some short-term damage to Disney’s brand and his personal image. He has long been regarded as among the most talent-friendly of CEOs, and Kimmel has been among the most loyal of Disney soldiers. Would it have really hurt the cause for Iger (or Walden) to come out with a statement Thursday morning defending Kimmel while showing sensitivity to Charlie Kirk’s death?

    But Disney clearly decided to play things safe and not add any fuel to the fire by saying anything until it decides what comes next. While nobody from Disney or Kimmel’s team would comment on Thursday afternoon, it seems likely the two sides have been in discussions about what, if anything, Kimmel needs to say to make ABC comfortable with putting him back on the air. (The show will remain off the air Thursday night.) Just as important, the network is likely in discussions with Nexstar and other affiliate groups about what they will require in order for them to resume airing Kimmel’s show. ABC would want to get both of them back onboard, but Nexstar — which is trying to get a huge merger deal approved by the FCC — in particular has proved it’s in full suck-up mode to Carr and Trump. “Nexstar saw all this as an opportunity to score points with the FCC,” an industry insider says. And with fellow affiliate group Sinclair joining the Kimmel pile on, it has even more leverage with Disney.

    That said, if ABC can come to an agreement with Kimmel over an appropriate response, Disney could, in theory, decide to just live with Nexstar and Sinclair boycotting Kimmel’s show. While it would mean some loss of ad revenue, it’s not as if late night is a giant profit center for networks; just the opposite. This isn’t 1995, or even 2005, where a Kimmel blackout in, say, 20 percent of the country would be a financial disaster. Much of Kimmel’s viewership now takes place on YouTube and Hulu. Disney could even go with a nuclear option and just make Jimmy Kimmel Live! a Hulu exclusive and let affiliates fill the hour with local news. CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert at the end of this season makes such a move even less risky, since it’s not as if ABC would be the lone big-three network without a late-night show.

    Regardless of the outcome, what is becoming sadly clear is that this will not be the last time big media companies are forced to deal with the MAGA machine moving swiftly, and with full government support, to achieve its goals. And broadcasters like ABC will keep butting up against this dynamic again and again because they program not only prime-time entertainment shows but topical talk series and newscasts. “It’s the worst time ever to be at a broadcast network, especially if you work in PR. Literally every day now, someone is going to say something,” the Hollywood veteran says. And while such controversies happened long before Trump, the mood in Hollywood is different now. “Before, when you had a backlash, it felt like social justice. Now, it feels like the full power of the U.S. government coming for you.”

    Josef Adalian

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  • Kimmel “cancelled” for Kirk comments: Trump celebrates, Hollywood fury—live

    ABC News and Disney are facing boycott calls on the heels of Jimmy Kimmel Live! being pulled from the air indefinitely over remarks made by the host after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

    The controversy centers on remarks Kimmel made in a monologue after Kirk’s death in which he floated that the suspect in the killing, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, could be aligned with “the MAGA gang” or possibly “one of them.”

    But the evidence made public by investigators strongly suggests Robinson held a leftist ideology and a related hatred of Kirk, and he had a trans partner, though prosecutors have yet to definitively confirm a motive.

    The suspension followed comments by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, whose agency regulates the networks, urging licensed stations to “step up” against “this garbage”.

    President Donald Trump praised the decision, saying on Truth Social: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”

    • ABC said Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be “pre‑empted indefinitely.”
    • Followed the decision to pull by ABC affiliate owners Nextar, Sinclair.
    • Kimmel’s pulling raises questions about free expression, First Amendment rights, and political censorship.
    • Nextar and Tegna’s need of FCC approval for a multi-billion dollar merger seen as driver of the Kimmel decision.
    • Hollywood unions the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA condemned the move as a violation of constitutional speech rights.
    • Democrats and liberal activists called for a boycott of ABC, Disney.

    Stay with Newsweek for live updates.




    Jimmy Kimmel attends the 28th Annual UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation’s “Taste For A Cure” event at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on May 02, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation



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