Comedian Wanda Sykes condemned ABC for suddenly pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air just before Wednesday night’s episode during which she was set to be the lead guest.
Kimmel’s show was pulled in response to comments he made Tuesday about the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Jimmy Kimmel and Wanda Sykes. Disney/Randy Holmes
“Hey everybody, so I’m in a full face of makeup because I was supposed to go over and have a chat with my friend Jimmy Kimmel on his show,” Sykes, who has also guest-hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live in the past, said in an Instagram video. “But as you have heard by now, the Jimmy Kimmel show has been pulled indefinitely, abruptly, because of complaints from the Trump administration.”
The comedian noted, “So let’s see, [Trump] didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week, but he did end freedom of speech within his first year.”
She ended the video by saying sadly, “For those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.”
Wanda Sykes guest-hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in 2021. Randy Holmes via Getty Images
Kimmel’s show being pulled came mere hours after the President Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to take away ABC’s broadcasting license if they couldn’t “take action” on Kimmel.
The ABC-affiliated station Nexstar soon released a statement declaring that they would refuse to air Kimmel’s show for the “foreseeable future.”
They added, “Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
Kimmel’s controversial comment came early in his Tuesday monologue, where he 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.”
Donald Trump was a guest on Kimmel’s show in 2016 but has made him a target in the years since. Randy Holmes/Getty Images
In his shows since Kirk’s death last Wednesday, Kimmel has repeatedly condemned celebrations of the tragedy, and was quick to send condolences to Kirk’s family on Instagram after the shooting.
According to a source from The Hollywood Reporter, Kimmel had planned to address the backlash to his comment on Wednesday night’s now-canceled show—but had no plans to apologize.