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Topics: Jimmy Kimmel, Charlie Kirk, Hollywood, Film and TV, US News
Callum Jones
Topics: Jimmy Kimmel, Charlie Kirk, Hollywood, Film and TV, US News
Following the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel off air over comments he made about Charlie Kirk's assassination, Hollywood has been reacting.
The 57-year-old addressed the tragedy on Jimmy Kimmel Live during the opening monologue of Monday's (September 15) show.
Kimmel said, as per NBC News: "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.
"And in between the finger pointing, there was grieving on Friday. The White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level you can see how hard the president is taking this."
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Kimmel went on to call out Donald Trump for putting his supposed grief aside to focus on the construction of the White House's controversial new $200 million state ballroom.
"Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?" Trump said.
Following the comments, ABC made the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel Live off air 'indefinitely'.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster told BBC News: "Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely."
Many celebrities have slammed the decision, including one who was set to appear on the show on Wednesday (September 17).
The stand-up comedian took to Instagram to explain how she was booked in as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live - but obviously didn't appear on the show because it had been canceled.
And in the video message uploaded to Instagram, Sykes took aim at the president.
She said: "Let’s see. He didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week. But he did end freedom of speech within his first year. Hey, for those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy."
The comedian wrote on Instagram: "I've spent a lot of time in public + private defending comedians I don't agree with. If you're a comedian + don't call out the insanity of pulling Kimmel off the air — don't bother spouting off about free speech anymore."
The US commentator was also one of those to also comment on the situation, as he penned on X: "This is the most straightforward attack on free speech from state actors I've ever seen in my life and it's not even close."
The journalist and attorney took to social media to react to the news and penned: "Just think for a minute about the amount of IRATE mail/viewer feedback they must have gotten to do this."
Bush, the One Tree Hill star, reacted to the news on Twitter by writing: "The First Amendment doesn’t exist in America anymore. Period. Fascism is here and it’s chilling."