Screengrab via ABC
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was reportedly about to deliver another controversial monologue when his show was suspended by ABC this week.
According to CNN, which spoke to an unnamed source familiar with the situation, Kimmel was preparing to deliver a monologue on Wednesday evening addressing the backlash he had received for another monologue that week about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The Wednesday monologue was described by CNN’s source as “very hot,” and would have reportedly targeted President Donald Trump’s MAGA base.
“If Jimmy went on the air, there would have been no way back from that monologue for Jimmy,” the source said. “We didn’t want that. Everyone deeply values him and wants him to come back. But he has to take down the temperature.”
After publishing the source’s quote on Thursday, CNN stealth-edited its article, removing the first half.
“Everyone deeply values him and wants him to come back. But he has to take down the temperature,” read the quote following CNN’s edit.
The decision to suspend Kimmel’s show was reportedly made by Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden “in hopes of protecting Kimmel and the Disney brand from accelerating the controversy.”
The author of the article, CNN Entertainment Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, previously suggested on Wednesday that it was unlikely Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to television anytime soon.
“Many people are saying that even though it’s not a cancellation at this moment, it’s hard to imagine the show coming back,” she said. “This is not about one comment about Charlie Kirk’s killer, this is a decade of Jimmy Kimmel bashing Trump. They’ve been going back and forth for years, so it’s really hard to imagine Trump rolling out the red carpet and saying, “Hey, you’ve taken a break, why don’t you come back on the air?’”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pre-empted on Wednesday after ABC received backlash over Kimmel’s comments suggesting that the suspect in Kirk’s assassination, Tyler Robinson, was a right-wing Trump supporter, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr accused Kimmel of attempting to “mislead” the public with his comments and had threatened to take action against Kimmel’s broadcasters.
The post Kimmel Was Reportedly About to Give Controversial Monologue When He Was Suspended: ‘He Has To Take Down the Temperature’ first appeared on Mediaite.
