On September 17, Jimmy Kimmel was suspended from his own Late Night Show on ABC after delivering a monologue about Charlie Kirk and how the MAGA cult is trying to score points from the situation. The monologue was poorly received by FCC chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, who pressured ABC — a subsidiary of Disney — to cancel Kimmel’s show. Shortly after, Kimmel was suspended.
Trump celebrated on Truth Social, writing: “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.”
But the move appears to be backfiring. Jimmy Kimmel’s YouTube channel jumped from 20.7 million to 21.2 million subscribers in a short time, while 15 million people have watched his new monologue on YouTube. There are also reports of high viewership on Instagram, Facebook, and ABC itself.
In the monologue, which has already reached legendary status, Kimmel breaks down several times, clearly moved by the support he has received. He is brought to tears when speaking about Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, sharing that she said in a speech that she forgives the shooter.
This incident marked a major blow to freedom of speech in the United States, which has been under significant pressure lately as President Trump seeks to silence his opponents.
But although freedom of speech seems to have won this round, Trump shows no signs of backing down. He wrote on Truth Social: “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.” This, despite Kimmel’s monologue setting a new viewership record.
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