Fox News host Laura Ingraham reportedly defended ABC’s decision to suspend late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely after his on-air comment linking the alleged assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to right-wing politics.
The move comes amid mounting backlash from affiliates, with one major station group announcing it would pre-empt Kimmel’s program nationwide.
The suspension followed a segment on Kimmel’s Monday night broadcast in which he asserted: “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.” The remark, presented without evidence, provoked widespread condemnation and led to ABC’s intervention.
On her Fox News program, Ingraham played the clip and addressed the network’s decision, stressing that she did not view it as an example of “cancel culture,” a phrase frequently invoked in debates over free speech and accountability in entertainment and media.
“Byron, to those who say, ‘Oh, this is cancel culture. Now you’re embracing cancel culture.’ I hit this last night, but I want to give you the chance to hit that ridiculously stupid retort to what we’re talking about,” Ingraham said, referring to her exchange with Fox News contributor Byron York.
York, a veteran political analyst, emphasized that ABC’s suspension of Kimmel reflected marketplace forces, not censorship. “The market is speaking in this case,” he said. “And obviously making a joke — any joke — about this assassination at this time just seems to be incredibly reckless, and making one based on a libelous falsehood is even worse.”
Ingraham agreed, describing the incident as part of a broader decline in the late-night genre, which she argued has grown increasingly out of touch with mainstream audiences. “They cease to be funny because they cease to connect with the American people,” she said of Kimmel and his peers.
She urged them to revisit the work of Johnny Carson, the late-night icon known for appealing across partisan lines. “They should go back and watch Carson and then maybe find their senses of humor,” she said.
Joining the panel, 2Way founder Mark Halperin also weighed in on the fallout, underscoring the seriousness of Kimmel’s comment at a time when emotions remain raw following Kirk’s assassination.
Affiliates had already begun signaling unease, and ABC faced growing pressure from local broadcasters who feared alienating their audiences.
The controversy underscores the shifting landscape for late-night television, once dominated by apolitical comedy but now defined by hosts whose monologues frequently veer into partisan commentary.
For critics like Ingraham, Kimmel’s suspension is not only justified but overdue, reflecting a public increasingly weary of political lectures packaged as humor.
While ABC has not indicated how long Kimmel will remain off the air, the decision marks one of the most significant disciplinary actions taken against a late-night host in years. For conservatives, the suspension represents an acknowledgment — however belated — that mocking a political assassination is a line that should never be crossed.
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