Pritzker slams ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show: ‘An attack on free speech’

CHICAGO (WGN) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker reacted swiftly to news that ABC is pulling its popular late-night show from its schedule ‘indefinitely,’ over comments made about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say,” Pritzker said on social media Wednesday evening, as his comment came within minutes of news breaking that ABC would pre-empt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely over the host’s remarks.

“This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand,” Pritzker added. “All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.”

The network’s decision came after Nexstar announced that its ABC affiliates would pre-empt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airings due to his comments.

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.

ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely following Charlie Kirk comments

During his monologue on Monday, Kimmel 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.”

“In between the fingerpointing, there was, uh, grieving — on Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level you can see how hard the president is taking this,” Kimmel said, before cutting to a clip where Trump responded to reporters asking about how he was doing by pointing to construction at the White House.

Kimmel accused Trump of mourning the assassinated conservative influencer “the way a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish,” Nexstar’s The Hill reports.

Kimmel, like CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, has consistently been critical of President Donald Trump and many of his policies. CBS News announced in July that it would end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in May 2026. Paramount, the parent company of CBS, cited the move as a financial decision.

“I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,” the president would post on Truth Social in the aftermath, as reported by The Hill and WGN Radio. “His talent was even less than his ratings.”

“I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” Trump would so post.

Nexstar is the parent company of WGN-TV.

Nexstar, The Hill, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.