IN HIS CORNER

Canceled Kimmel Guest Sounds Off on Trump for ‘Ending Free Speech’

Wanda Sykes was scheduled to appear as the main guest on Wednesday night’s show before ABC pulled the plug.

Comedian Wanda Sykes condemned ABC for suddenly pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air just before Wednesday night’s episode during which she was set to be the lead guest.

Kimmel’s show was pulled in response to comments he made Tuesday about the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

“Hey everybody, so I’m in a full face of makeup because I was supposed to go over and have a chat with my friend Jimmy Kimmel on his show,” Sykes, who has also guest-hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live in the past, said in an Instagram video. “But as you have heard by now, the Jimmy Kimmel show has been pulled indefinitely, abruptly, because of complaints from the Trump administration.”

‘UNPRECEDENTED TIMES’

CNN Host Warns ‘America Is Less Free’ After Kimmel Pulled

Catherine Bouris

The comedian noted, “So let’s see, [Trump] didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week, but he did end freedom of speech within his first year.”

She ended the video by saying sadly, “For those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.”

Kimmel’s show being pulled came mere hours after Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to take away ABC’s broadcasting license if they couldn’t “take action” on Kimmel.

The ABC-affiliated station Nexstar soon released a statement declaring that they would refuse to air Kimmel’s show for the “foreseeable future.”

DON'S TARGET

All the Times Trump Complained About Jimmy Kimmel

William Vaillancourt

They added, “Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”

FINGER-POINTING

What Kimmel Really Said About Kirk That Made MAGA Melt Down

Julia Ornedo

Kimmel’s controversial comment came early in his Tuesday monologue, where 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.”

In his shows since Kirk’s death last Wednesday, Kimmel has repeatedly condemned celebrations of the tragedy, and was quick to send condolences to Kirk’s family on Instagram after the shooting.

According to a source from The Hollywood Reporter, Kimmel had planned to address the backlash to his comments on Wednesday night’s now-canceled show—but had no plans to apologize.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Michael Boyle

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.