Jimmy Kimmel Live pulled from air by US broadcaster ABC over 'insensitive' Charlie Kirk comments

Late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live has been dropped from air "indefinitely" over comments about the murder of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.

The show's host, comedian Jimmy Kimmel, suggested during a monologue earlier this week Mr Kirk's alleged killer may have been a pro-Trump Republican.

Suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with the aggravated murder of Mr Kirk during a speaking event on a Utah university campus.

Mr Kimmel on Monday night, local time, accused "the MAGA gang" of trying to "score political points" by characterising Mr Robinson as "anything other than them".

"In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving," he said.

His comments sparked outrage from the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the group responsible for regulating broadcasts.

FCC chair Brendan Carr told a right-wing podcast Mr Kimmel's remarks constituted "the sickest conduct possible".

He added the FCC could move to revoke the ABC's affiliate licenses to force the organisation to punish Mr Kimmel.

"These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."

He later labelled Mr Kimmel as "talentless" and said his comments showed "some sort of desperate irrelevance".

Prior to his on-air monologue, Mr Kimmel had posted a statement condemning the shooting on social media.

"Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?" he wrote.

He added he and his family "send love" to the Kirk family and "all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence".

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is owned by US broadcaster ABC.

ABC affiliate Nexstar Media Group announced it would pre-empt the show on its television stations, replacing it with other programming indefinitely.

Nexstar's broadcasting president, Andrew Alford, said Mr Kimmel's comments were "offensive and insensitive".

"We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located," he said.

"Continuing to give Mr Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time.

"And we have made the difficult decision to pre-empt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."

Minutes later, the ABC announced Mr Kimmel would be taken off the air "indefinitely".

Another ABC affiliate group, Sinclair, announced it would air a Charlie Kirk memorial special in Mr Kimmel's usual time-slot. 

They said it would not return Jimmy Kimmy Live to its stations "until formal discussions" with ABC regarding its "commitment to professionalism and accountability". 

US President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social following the announcement, celebrating the show's cancellation.

He called the decision "great news for America".

"The rating challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is cancelled," the president said.

"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.

He also called for Kimmel's fellow late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, to be taken off the air by their broadcaster, NBC.

It is not the first time Mr Kimmel has been in the firing line in recent months.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump predicted Mr Kimmel would be taken off the air following Paramount's decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

"The word is, and it's a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is next to go in the untalented late night sweepstakes," he wrote on Truth Social in July.