Featured Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Topics: Jimmy Kimmel, Celebrity, Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, JD Vance
Ben Williams
Topics: Jimmy Kimmel, Celebrity, Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, JD Vance
Hollywood legend Ben Stiller has waded into the storm surrounding Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show being suspended.
The decision came following the talk show host's comments regarding Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump, with many taking issue with what he said on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In the opening monologue, Kimmel referred to the killing of the 31-year-old podcaster, who was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at a college debate in Utah on September 10.
The suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, was apprehended by police two days after and has been charged with seven counts in connection with Kirk's death.
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Kimmel also spoke about Trump and showed a clip of the President talking to reporters outside the White House, where he was asked how he was doing in the wake of Kirk's death, to which he responded: "I think very good."
Trump then went on to talk about the White House's reconstruction of their ballroom, as Kimmel joked: “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief, construction.”
“Demolition, construction,” he continued. “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?”
He also discussed Robinson, as he said: "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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."
Following his comments, an ABC spokesperson said in a statement: "Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely."
Meanwhile, Nextstar Media, which is affiliated with ABC, also said they wouldn't air Jimmy Kimmel Live! 'for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight's show'.
The president of Nexstar's broadcast division, Andrew Alford, also called the host's comments 'offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse'.
The decision has received mixed opinions online, and a few celebrities have offered their opinion on the matter, including Stiller, who cut straight to the point, saying on X: “This isn’t right.”
The Tropic Thunder star isn't the only one, as former President Barack Obama also gave his thoughts on social media.
“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like," he wrote.
“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
Meanwhile, Trump was seemingly delighted by the news, as he took to Truth Social to call the decision 'great news for America'.
Kimmel has yet to respond to the situation himself.
UNILAD has previously contacted Kimmel's representatives for comment.