Bob Iger, the former CEO of Disney during Jimmy Kimmel‘s temporary suspension, is finally opening up about the late night comedian’s removal from ABC’s lineup last September.
The 75-year-old former media executive spoke to the Financial Times about the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! from ABC’s lineup last September over comments he made following Charlie Kirk‘s death.
Iger denied it had anything to do with politics and appeasing the Trump administration.
“That was not the case,” Iger said, via Entertainment Weekly. “We thought it was in bad taste.”
Kimmel caused controversy when, in an opening monologue, he claimed a Trump supporter was responsible for Kirk’s death. Kirk was struck by a gunshot and killed in September 2025 during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour in Utah.
“We had 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 everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time on-air.
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr and President Donald Trump responded with calls to axe Kimmel’s late night show from station owners Sinclair and Nexstar. Kimmel’s show was pulled hours later, and ABC then confirmed Kimmel’s show was placed on hold.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was reinstated a week later.
“We just wanted him to acknowledge that it was an ill-timed and probably inappropriate comment,” Iger explained.
Celebrities and even former Disney CEO Michael Eisner railed against the decision made by Disney, ABC’s parent company.
Kimmel has continued to make jokes about Trump, 80, and most recently even joked about his wife Melania Trump, which insiders claimed some at ABC viewed as “reckless.”
This story Bob Iger Breaks Silence on Jimmy Kimmel Suspension, Calls Host’s Charlie Kirk Comment ‘Bad Taste’ first appeared on National Enquirer. Follow National Enquirer on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.
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