A former ESPN star is naming the bright spot for Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of his ABC punishment.
ABC announced on Wednesday that Kimmel, who has hosted their late-night talk show for more than 20 years, was being taken off the air indefinitely. Kimmel, who has been outspoken against President Trump, suggested in his Monday night monologue that the right was doing everything they could to make sure that the Charlie Kirk shooter was not part of the MAGA movement. Kirk, 31, was shot and killed by a gunman at a college speaking event in Utah earlier this month.
The network’s decision to remove Kimmel’s show from the air came after one of its broadcasting partners announced that it was taking his show off of its channels. The head of the FCC also threatened to take action against ABC.
ABC.
Former ESPN star Bill Simmons, who wrote for Kimmel’s show before joining the Worldwide Leader in Sports, gave his opinion on the subject matter earlier this week.
Simmons, who went on to found The Ringer, believes that there’s actually a bright spot for Kimmel right now.
Former ESPN star speaks out on Kimmel situation
Simmons, who wrote for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for two seasons, said that his friend is “gonna be fine” and added that it isn’t “quite as scary and terrible” as it may seem.
The former ESPN star sounded off on his Friday podcast.
“The bigger question for me: Why does Jimmy need ABC anymore?” Simmons asked.
Simmons brought up how longtime radio host Howard Stern went from traditional radio to satellite radio.
“If you don’t think he’s gonna figure out another way to do content in an awesome way, you just don’t know the dude,” Simmons said of Kimmel.
“The platform isn’t ABC … He can still have that platform wherever he wants because he’s the platform,” Simmons said later. “And that’s the difference in this. And that’s why I don’t think this is quite as scary and terrible as maybe it felt this week.”
Simmons made it clear that he’s still confident in Kimmel.
“Yeah, we’re gonna have censorship,” he said. “Yeah, stupid shit like this apparently is gonna keep happening for the next three years. Yeah, the discourse is the ugliest it’s ever been. But I still feel like if somebody’s good enough to have a platform, they can find it. So I hope Jimmy’s show sticks around and I hope ABC sticks by him. And I think if they don’t, I think it would be pretty cowardly. I don’t think that’s a crazy thing to say. But if they don’t stick by him and this is the end, I think he’s gonna be fine. He’ll find another platform somewhere and he’ll figure out how to get all his content out in the right ways. And I would not bet against that dude.”
Time will tell what Kimmel will do next.
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Sep 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the Trending section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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