<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former US President Barack Obama said the Trump administration is taking "cancel culture" to a "new and dangerous level", as he weighed in on the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show for comments he made about Charlie Kirk's killing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Obama took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday (Friday morning AEST) saying it's "precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However Trump argued Kimmel's show was pulled because of "bad ratings".</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/donald-trump-jimmy-kimmel-inside-long-running-feud-insults-barbs-explained/9e141f20-4079-4eeb-88e7-f4ff867cdcaa" rel="" target="" title="Trump's historic feud with Kimmel spans almost 10 years and two presidencies"><strong><span>Trump's historic feud with Kimmel spans almost 10 years and two presidencies</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kimmel's late-night talk show has been taken off the air indefinitely on Thursday AEST, after the TV host and frequent Trump critic accused the MAGA movement of scoring political points off the death of Kirk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"</span><em><span>Jimmy Kimmel Live!</span></em><span> will be pre-empted indefinitely," an ABC spokesperson told CNN, declining to share any further details.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kimmel suggested during his Monday evening monologue that the suspect in Kirk's killing, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-barack-obama-donald-trump-reactions/b3f6d166-f7a5-49b7-a898-44fe288506ef" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities say the 22-year-old grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but his parents told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/jimmy-kimmel-show-pulled-offair-indefinitely-after-charlie-kirk-remarks/2d96c5ce-aa33-4e98-9406-1e9b48a30e0f" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump reacts after Jimmy Kimmel's show pulled off air"><strong><span>Donald Trump reacts after Jimmy Kimmel's show pulled off air</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Obama said the current administration had complained for years about "cancel culture" from the left, but is now "routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The former president shared a news report about how the FCC chairman had said he could hold ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When Trump was asked about the move, during a press conference on day two of his UK state visit, he said Kimmel was "fired for lack of talent".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago," Trump said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So, you know, you could call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before adding: "And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The president was asked if free speech is more under attack in Britain or the United States. He repeated his view that Kimmel isn't talented.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump interrupted his </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-uk-visit-king-charles-iii-prepares-to-welcome-trump-windsor-castle/3fc8ad29-f31f-4424-9b29-6c6fbd5fe706" rel="" target="" title="UK state visit"><span>UK state visit</span></a><span> to react online to news of the show being pulled, posting a comment to Truth social shortly after 10am AEST.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED," Trump wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kimmel has sharply criticised Trump and Trump's administration in many of his routines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Sudden suspension shocks staff — and celebrity guests en route to show </span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to a source with knowledge of the events, Kimmel's staff members had been working as usual on Wednesday afternoon, holding calls with talent publicists regarding upcoming episodes just before the decision was announced. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Numerous Hollywood publicists, producers, media executives who spoke with CNN on Wednesday evening expressed their astonishment over the suspension. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are all shell-shocked," one celebrity publicist told CNN. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I cannot believe this is real life," a studio publicist said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Comedian Wanda Sykes, who was to be a guest on Wednesday night's show, said: "For those of you who pray, now's the time to do it." </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> Staffers inside ABC were also stunned by the move. Kimmel's ties to the network run deep. His show has been on for more than two decades, and Kimmel's wife, Molly McNearney, is the head writer and executive producer of </span><em><span>Jimmy Kimmel Live!</span></em><span> </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A source familiar with the fluid and fast-moving situation told CNN that </span><em><span>Jimmy Kimmel Live!</span></em><span> has not been cancelled, but added there is no timeline as to when the show may return.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kimmel's abrupt suspension came after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show from its 23 ABC affiliates starting on Wednesday. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a statement, the president of Nexstar's broadcasting division, Andrew Alford, said Kimmel's comments about Kirk's death "are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse," but he didn't specify which comments he found objectionable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Federal Communications Commission's chairman also weighed in, calling Kimmel's comments "truly sick" and saying his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. In its statement announcing the Kimmel show's suspension, ABC didn't cite a reason.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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