ABC has pulled late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off air indefinitely over comments he made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely, a spokesperson for the Disney-owned network said in a statement. Kimmel did not comment to the BBC as he emerged shortly afterwards from the television studio in Los Angeles.
Earlier this week, Kimmel said during his show that the Maga gang was trying to score political points off Kirk's killing. A 22-year-old suspect appeared in court on Tuesday charged with aggravated murder over last week's shooting of the 31-year-old conservative activist.
Kimmel said in his Monday night monologue: The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.
The late-night host also criticised flags being flown at half mast in honour of Kirk, and mocked US President Donald Trump's reaction to the shooting.
On the day Kirk was shot, Kimmel took to Instagram to condemn the attack and send love to the conservative activist's family.
Authorities have not specified a motive in Kirk's fatal shooting on 10 September.
Shortly after ABC announced Kimmel had been suspended, Trump said it was great news for America. Trump also criticised two other late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers, whom he described as two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible.
The FCC chairman Brendan Carr condemned Kimmel's comments, calling it the sickest conduct possible and urged action from Disney. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America condemned Kimmel's suspension as a violation of free speech rights.
The ABC announcement came just after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future, calling the comedian's remarks offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.
After he was taken off air on Wednesday, Kimmel left the studio on Hollywood Boulevard wearing a flannel shirt and cap and rode away in a car without comment. Fans expressed disappointment, saying they felt the decision infringed on freedom of speech.
