In what many are calling a desperate attempt at career rehabilitation, Jimmy Kimmel returned to the airwaves Tuesday night with a tearful monologue aimed at softening the blow from his recent, wildly irresponsible comments about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. But if Kimmel expected applause for his emotional pivot, he miscalculated badly. The public—particularly those close to Kirk—saw right through it.
“He’s emotional for himself because he almost torched his entire career,” said Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, in a post that landed like a thunderclap across social media. And Kolvet isn’t alone in that assessment.
Yes, Jimmy got emotional. So what. He’s emotional for himself because he almost torched his entire career.
Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who tried to blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last 2 weeks praying and holding vigils. What he’s…
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) September 24, 2025
The backlash against Kimmel has been swift and unforgiving, and for good reason. Just days after Charlie Kirk was murdered—murdered—at a campus event in Utah by a suspect authorities say was inspired by leftist ideology, Kimmel used his national platform not to condemn the killing, but to distort it. In a now-infamous segment, he tried to frame Kirk’s assassin as a product of the “MAGA gang,” even though law enforcement had already made it clear that the shooter’s motivations were rooted in far-left extremism.
The intent behind Kimmel’s original remarks wasn’t to inform or to mourn. It was to score political points. And it backfired—spectacularly.
Even as he now claims his words were “ill-timed” or “unclear,” Kimmel refuses to correct the central falsehood: that this murder had anything to do with conservative rhetoric. Instead, he doubles down on the notion that no group is responsible, calling the killer simply a “deeply disturbed individual.”
He still won’t tell the truth about the suspect. And that’s the tell. He’s running cover
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 24, 2025
But as Jack Posobiec rightly pointed out, that’s “the tell.” If Kimmel truly cared about the truth, he’d acknowledge what the authorities have said—that this was a politically motivated assassination carried out by someone who saw Kirk’s conservative views as dangerous. That’s not random. That’s not neutral. That’s ideological.
And yet Kimmel still can’t say it.
Meanwhile, the fallout has been very real. Kimmel’s show was preempted in numerous markets, and both Sinclair and Nexstar—two of the largest broadcast operators in the country—are continuing to withhold the program from their ABC affiliates. Together, they control nearly 80 local stations. It’s a massive distribution blow and a clear sign that Kimmel’s apology tour is not landing.
What’s more troubling is that Kimmel is still trying to spin this as a First Amendment issue, claiming Disney suspended him because of “government pressure” and suggesting Trump somehow orchestrated it. But his own words betray that narrative—he admits Disney executives spoke to him directly and made the decision themselves. There’s no shadowy government censorship here—just consequences.