Jimmy Fallon Had a Subtle Response to Kimmel’s Charlie Kirk Controversy Hours After Trump Threatened to Also Cancel His ‘Horrible’ Talk Show
Jason Pham
Jimmy Fallon canceled an appearance just hours after news that ABC had indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, over comments he made about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Fallon was set to appear at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival in New York City on September 18. He was scheduled to speak on a session titled “Staying on Brand,” however, he canceled at the last minute, organizers told The New York Post. The sudden cancellation came just hours after ABC had announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! had been indefinitely pulled. The move came after Nexstar Media, the largest U.S. local broadcast and media company that owns more than 200 television stations in 116 markets, decided to preempt airings on Jimmy Kimmel Live! following Kimmel’s statements about Kirk.
“[Nextstar] 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,” the company said in a statement at the time.
Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, continued in his own statement, “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.”
Alford added, “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
After Kimmel’s suspension, President Donald Trump also called on NBC to cancel Fallon’s talk show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers’ talk show, Late Night With Seth Meyers. “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT”
Kirk, a right-wing political activist, was assassinated on September 10, 2025, while speaking at a TPUSA public debate event at Utah Valley University. Twenty-two-year-old Tyler Robinson was arrested and charged with his death. Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death came during the Monday, September 15, broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
“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,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
He continued, “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.” The episode then cut to a clip of Trump taking questions from reporters after the shooting. When asked how he was doing, Trump responded, “I think very good, and by the way, right there where you see all the trucks, they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House.” Trump then discussed the ballroom plans, saying the result will “be a beauty.” The episode then cut back to Kimmel, who joked, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief, construction.”
“Demolition, construction,” Kimmel 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?”
