Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel may have to make a decision: apologize for blaming Charlie Kirk’s assassination on the “MAGA gang” or permanently say goodbye to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC.

Mr. Kimmel faced heavy backlash after comments he made on his show Monday evening that erupted into a firestorm on Wednesday. The anti-Trump comedian 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.”

Those comments, which came even after law enforcement officials said the suspect had left-wing views, prompted a warning from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, to local stations not to air Mr. Kimmel’s show. Hours later, the two largest station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, said they would not air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” After that, ABC said it would pull the show “indefinitely.”

Multiple reports have said that executives at ABC decided to suspend the show when it became clear that Mr. Kimmel planned to address the outrage on his Wednesday night show – not to apologize, but to double down on his comments. The show was supposed to tape at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time. Disney yanked the show before the cameras started rolling.

An article from the Hollywood Reporter said that Mr. Kimmel “planned to explain what he said and demonstrate how it was taken out of context. When asked by the THR, the source said that Kimmel was not planning on apologizing. He felt what he said did not require an apology.”

Puck’s Dylan Byers wrote on X, “Jimmy Kimmel was planning to address his Charlie Kirk remarks on tonight’s broadcast, and Disney/ABC leadership elected to hit pause amid Nexstar/FCC pressure.” He added that network executives hope to have the “matter resolved and have the show return.” Similarly, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening that the show could return in a matter of days.

While executives expressed optimism that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to the air, it remains unclear whether they will convince the far-left host to apologize. 

Sinclair, which owns roughly 40 ABC local TV affiliates, said Mr. Kimmel’s comments were “inappropriate and deeply insensitive.” The company, whose management is politically conservative, added that it felt that ABC’s decision to yank the show off the air was not sufficient and said that it would not carry the program “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”

Sinclair also said it wants Mr. Kimmel, who is believed to make about $15 million a year from his show alone, and has been making seven figures at ABC for more than 20 years, to “issue a direct apology to the Kirk family” and “make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.”

If an apology is what is required for ABC to bring back Mr. Kimmel’s show, it may be unlikely that that will happen, which could lead to the end of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and leave dozens of the show’s staffers out of jobs. 

A former executive editor of OK! Magazine, Rob Shuter, reported in his newsletter that Mr. Kimmel would rather lose his show than apologize. One “insider” told Mr. Shuter, “Jimmy feels cornered.”

“He thinks apologizing would be caving to political censorship. If it comes down to bowing to pressure or walking away, he’s ready to walk,” the source said.

A person identified as a “friend” of Mr. Kimmel told Mr. Shuter, “Jimmy’s stubborn — he won’t fake an apology he doesn’t believe in. He’d rather protect comedy than save his job.”

The issue of executives potentially forcing staffers to apologize on air was a major issue at another legacy broadcaster, CBS. President Trump sued the Tiffany Network over its editing of Vice President Kamala Harris’s October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes,” which he alleged was deceptively edited to hurt his campaign.

CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, defended the editing, and left-wing scholars and journalists argued Mr. Trump’s lawsuit was “meritless.” However, industry insiders began to believe that his lawsuit was delaying Paramount’s crucial merger with Skydance Media, which required the federal government’s approval. 

Mr. Trump’s team was believed to be demanding an on-air apology for the Harris interview, something that was anathema to the left-wing staff. The former head of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, and the former executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, reportedly said an apology was a “red line” they would not cross. Their resistance to the idea of an apology and to settling Mr. Trump’s lawsuit is believed to have contributed to their resignations, which were widely perceived as forced ousters.

“60 Minutes” has been seen as the “crown jewel” of CBS News, and the prospect of forcing the staff to apologize for what it felt was an entirely appropriate editorial decision likely would have roiled employees and may have led staffers to resign in protest, complaining that executives undermined journalistic independence. 

However, Mr. Kimmel’s comment comes at an uncertain time for the late-night format. Across the industry, late-night shows have struggled financially, and it is widely known that they are not drawing in as much advertising revenue as they once did, and in some cases are losing money. Puck’s Matthew Belloni reported that CBS’s “The Late Show,” hosted by Stephen Colbert, has been losing $40 million a year. CBS announced in July that it is canceling “The Late Show” in May 2026 for “financial” reasons, though fans of Mr. Colbert and Democrats have speculated that the decision was made to placate Mr. Trump.

Mr. Kimmel aggressively came to Mr. Colbert’s defense, even paying for a Los Angeles billboard to support Mr. Colbert winning an Emmy, which he did. 

More pointedly, Mr. Kimmel has publicly doubted that “The Late Show” was losing money. He told Variety in August, “There’s just not a snowball’s chance in hell that that’s anywhere near accurate. … Suddenly, he’s losing $40 million a year?”

“I will tell you, the first 10 years I did the show, they claimed we weren’t making any money — and we had five times as many viewers on ABC as we do now. Who knows what’s true? All I know is they keep paying us — and that’s kind of all you need to know,” Mr. Kimmel said. 

As has been widely discussed in recent weeks regarding claims by Paramount, anonymously given to reporters, that “The Late Show” and CBS News were both losing about $40 million a year, accounting within a broadcast network of what shows and divisions make money and what don’t can be done a thousand ways. But the upshot is that, bigger picture, the late-night shows at ABC, CBS, and NBC — with their highly paid hosts, high production costs, and unionized staff — are no longer moneymakers and almost certainly a net drag on profits.  

They have been reduced to four nights a week and the bands removed, which would not have happened if they were making money.

It remains to be seen whether executives at ABC will determine that Mr. Kimmel’s show — and perhaps more importantly, Mr. Kimmel, who has hosted major awards shows and famously does a lacerating private stand-up session at ABC’s annual “up fronts” for advertisers — is important enough to the network that it can bring the host back without an apology, or if it will give him an ultimatum to apologize or lose his show. 

ABC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.