Turning Point USA, co-founded by the murdered conservative leader Charlie Kirk, is encouraging ABC affiliates not to carry Jimmy Kimmel's late-night TV show when it comes back from hiatus on Tuesday.
Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show" and a spokesman for TPUSA, accused ABC and parent company Disney of "caving" in letting "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" return after yanking the show last week following comments the comedian made about Kirk's killer.
Disney announced Monday that it spent several days in "thoughtful conversations" with Kimmel before deciding the show could resume on Tuesday night.
Special: The Late Charlie Kirk’s Final Warning to America, Click Here.
"Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmell [sic] back on the air is not surprising, but it's their mistake to make. Nextstar [sic] and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice," Kolvet said an X post.
In his monologue last Monday, Kimmel — who has often targeted Trump and his allies — criticized what he called the "MAGA gang," accusing it of "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's remarks in his monologue drew immediate outrage from conservatives, who argued that the late-night host had crossed a moral line at a time of national grief. Many accused him of mocking Kirk's death and trivializing the gravity of a political assassination.
The outrage was amplified by the shocking nature of Kirk's assassination itself. Authorities in Utah said Tuesday that the suspect, a 22-year-old male, recently "started to lean more left" politically and targeted Kirk specifically for his "political expression."
"The Walt Disney Company said in a statement Monday that production was suspended 'to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.' The company added, 'We felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,'" NBC News reported.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.