{"id":248261,"date":"2026-06-25T02:54:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/25\/disney-ceo-says-jimmy-kimmel-was-suspended-over-bad-taste-not-allegiance-to-president-donald-trump\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T02:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:54:34","slug":"disney-ceo-says-jimmy-kimmel-was-suspended-over-bad-taste-not-allegiance-to-president-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/25\/disney-ceo-says-jimmy-kimmel-was-suspended-over-bad-taste-not-allegiance-to-president-donald-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney CEO Says Jimmy Kimmel Was Suspended Over \u2018Bad Taste\u2019, Not Allegiance to President Donald Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Former Disney CEO Bob Iger<\/strong><\/a> denied that Jimmy Kimmel<\/strong><\/a> was suspended from his ABC late-night show<\/a> last year to prove the network\u2019s allegiance to President Donald Trump<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was not the case,\u201d Iger, 75, told the Financial Times<\/em><\/a> in an interview published on Saturday, June 20. \u201cWe thought [Kimmel\u2019s joke] was in bad taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iger pointed out that Kimmel\u2019s suspension lasted less than a week, noting,\u201cWe just wanted him to acknowledge that it was an ill-timed and probably inappropriate comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Iger stepped down as Disney CEO in March, turning over the role to successor Josh D\u2019Amaro<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Everything Jimmy Kimmel Has Said About Being Taken Off the Air and His Return<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tJimmy Kimmel made his late-night return on September 23, 2025, after serving a weeklong suspension that sparked a public debate on free speech. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host was pulled off the air \u201cindefinitely\u201d by ABC on September 17 for comments he made about the suspect in the shooting death of conservative political pundit Charlie [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Controversy erupted last fall over Kimmel, 58, discussing the murder of Charlie Kirk<\/strong> while the conservative activist was delivering a speech on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025.<\/p>\n

(Tyler James Robinson<\/strong> was later charged<\/a> with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and violent offense in the presence of a child, as well as two counts of obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Robinson, 22, has not yet entered a plea.)<\/p>\n

During his Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> monologue on September 15, 2025, Kimmel ignited a firestorm of controversy while discussing the political fallout of Kirk\u2019s death at age 31.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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 with everything they can to score political points from,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cIn between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimmel then showed footage of Trump, 80, discussing his White House construction plans in the wake of Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s at the fourth stage of grief, construction,\u201d Kimmel joked. \u201cIt\u2019s demolition, construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> host added, \u201cThis is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Days after the jokes originally aired, numerous conservative groups called for a boycott of ABC and multiple station owners, including Nexstar Media and Sinclair, vowed not to air Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> until he publicly apologized. ABC eventually confirmed to Us Weekly<\/em> on September 17, 2025, that the comedy show would be \u201cpre-empted indefinitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimmel was off the air for a total of six days before ABC reinstated Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> into its weeknight lineup on September 22, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,\u201d the company\u2019s statement to Us<\/em> read. \u201cIt is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimmel told viewers<\/a> in his return monologue, \u201cI\u2019ve been hearing a lot about what I need to do and say tonight, and the truth is, I don\u2019t think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you like me, you like me, if you don\u2019t, I have no illusions of changing anyone\u2019s mind, but I do want to make something clear because it\u2019s important to me as a human: It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything funny about it,\u201d Kimmel clarified.<\/p>\n

ABC ultimately signed Kimmel to a one-year contract extension<\/a> in December 2025, despite Trump\u2019s repeated demands for the network to fire him.<\/p>\n

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