Jimmy Kimmel’s Return to TV in Jeopardy as Major ABC Affiliate Refuses to Air ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’

Jimmy Kimmel’s planned return to late-night TV has hit a major setback, as nearly 40 major ABC affiliate stations have declined to air the show after Disney announced that the liberal talk show host would be back on air Tuesday.

Sinclair Inc., which airs “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its local ABC stations, says it’s sticking to last week’s decision to keep the show off the air for now. “Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” Sinclair, which has the nation’s largest number of the network’s affiliate stations, announced on X on Monday, making Kimmel’s return uncertain.

Return in Uncertainty

Sinclair and Disney are still in discussions, but no deal has been reached yet. It came as people across the political spectrum reacted to Kimmel’s return. Supporters of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement were furious, while Kirk’s former co-host Andrew Kolvet slammed Disney and ABC, saying their choice to bring Kimmel back was “a mistake” — one he urged other broadcasters like Nexstar and Sinclair not to repeat.

Sinclair’s biggest ABC station is WJLA in Washington, D.C., which means viewers in the nation’s capital — including Trump and other political heavyweights — won’t be seeing Kimmel’s show anytime soon.

The company has said it won’t end the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” until it has formal talks with ABC about “professionalism and accountability.”

On top of that, Sinclair has demanded that Kimmel personally apologize to the Kirk family and make a meaningful donation to both the family and Turning Point USA, the conservative student group founded by Charlie Kirk. Kimmel, meanwhile, is known for his liberal views.

“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” Sinclair Vice Chairman Jason Smith said in the announcement.

“We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities.”

Anger Grows

The reactions to Kimmel’s Tuesday comeback broke sharply along party lines. In MAGA circles, the decision was blasted. Megyn Kelly mocked the short suspension, saying, “Must be nice to be a leftist. ‘Cancellation’ lasts 5 nights and you’re right back under klieg lights. On the right you’re underground.”

Conservative commentator Matt Walsh accused liberals of hypocrisy, pointing out, “Kimmel’s show was put on pause for like 3 days and yet leftists will look us dead in the eyes and tell us that this was a greater attack on free speech than shooting and killing Charlie Kirk.”

CNN analyst Scott Jennings noted that Disney never mentioned the FCC in its original explanation, adding, “So basically his employer suspended him for being an insensitive prick, and we don’t live in an authoritarian regime? Got it.”

Liberals, meanwhile, celebrated Kimmel’s return. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett called it a “WIN” and used the moment to take a jab at Trump, suggesting he was senile.

Zohran Mamdani, the socialist who recently secured the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, pulled out of a scheduled town hall with the city’s ABC affiliate in protest of Kimmel’s suspension.

“Last week, Disney/ABC caved to Trump administration pressure. Millions of Americans helped them find their backbone. Whether you watch Jimmy Kimmel or not, today’s decision is a victory for free speech,” he said.

Kimmel was taken off the air last Wednesday after he commented that “the MAGA gang” was trying to spin the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination as anything other than one of their own.