Is Jimmy Kimmel Live! canceled? Staffer alleges no communication from the network

Jimmy Kimmel is reportedly negotiating his comeback after his late-night show was pulled from the air following his comments about the late Charlie Kirk.

Us Weekly has reported that the Jimmy Kimmel Live! talk show host, 57, and Disney, which is the parent company of ABC, the owner of the talk show, are “working toward reaching a compromise." As of this writing, it is unclear if the show will be brought back on air.

The show was preempted on Wednesday, September 17. At the time, Nexstar Media allegedly threatened to air the website on its affiliate stations, citing in a statement its "strong objection" to the

"recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk."

The future of Jimmy Kimmel Live! hangs in the balance: Here's everything we know so far

Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and right-wing provocateur, was gunned down on September 10 at Utah Valley University. He was 31 years old. Days later, during his monologue, Jimmy Kimmel accused MAGA and conservatives of reaching “new lows”:

“The MAGA Gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

He was referring to Tyler Robinson, 22, who has been arrested and detained in connection with the murder. An employee of the program spoke to People Magazine about the show's future hanging in the balance:

"We don't know anything," the individual told the outlet anonymously. "We're all on standby. Jimmy and the producers have had to keep this close to the vest." They added that "there's been nothing" in terms of intimation from the network. "We're just hoping that we're gonna hear something soon and hopefully it's good. I'm not ready to admit that it's over," they note.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! staffer also said that ABC's decision came "shortly before showtime" on September 17, after the team had spent hours preparing for the taping.

"It was very quick and very shocking. It was a big shock to everybody," they said.

Brendan Carr, the chair of the broadcast regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has since threatened to take action against ABC and Disney over Jimmy Kimmel's remarks. He claimed the latter was "appearing to directly mislead the American public."

Carr, who is a Trump appointee, said during his recent appearance on the conservative podcast, the Benny Show:

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."

As of this writing, Jimmy Kimmel has yet to issue an official statement.

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