NEED TO KNOW
- In an Instagram post following Jimmy Kimmel Live being put on hiatus indefinitely, conservative pundit S.E. Cupp praised Jimmy Kimmel for conducting a “generous” interview with her in 2018 despite their disagreement
- Cupp recalled that she and Kimmel saw each other as “people, as parents, as equal contributors to a national conversation” during the talk show appearance
- A spokesperson for Disney’s ABC confirmed to PEOPLE that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was put on an indefinite hiatus following Kimmel’s on-air comments about the death of Charlie Kirk
Conservative pundit S.E. Cupp is praising Jimmy Kimmel after Jimmy Kimmel Live! was put on indefinite hiatus.
The political commentator, 46, commended Kimmel, 57, for treating her with “total respect” during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2018 following their disagreement over adult film actress Stormy Daniels appearing on the show.
“This picture didn’t happen overnight or out of thin air,” she wrote on Instagram on Sept. 19 alongside a photo of the pair smiling on the show. “Jimmy and I didn’t know each other and had been engaged in a somewhat contentious war of words previously from our respective television perches.”
Cupp noted that Kimmel invited her on the talk show “Instead of continuing the hostilities,” adding, “He didn’t have to, and he could have used that as an opportunity to dress me down or put me on the spot or turn his audience against me. Instead, we talked like adults, he treated me with total respect, he elevated my interests and perspective, and we laughed a lot.”
She explained that the appearance “broke down a barrier instead of persisting one.”
“It was a generous and kind overture that I never forgot,” Cupp said. “And in that moment we saw each other as people, as parents, as equal contributors to a national conversation. This should be the model. Invite MORE speech, invite MORE people with whom you disagree, find areas of common ground.”
“You can do all of this while standing up for the people and things you support. It doesn’t have to be all or none, and it shouldn’t be. Free speech is our American gift and right and privilege. Jimmy celebrated it.”
She noted that the decision from ABC made for “a sad and scary day, among so many sad and scary days,” beore adding, “I appreciate you @jimmykimmel 💔🎙️👊🏻”
Back in 2018, Cupp said on The View that having Daniels — whose alleged affair with Donald Trump went public the same year — on Kimmel’s show wasn’t fair to people including Monica Lewinsky.
“[Cupp] insinuated that this booking isn’t fair to Republicans. Well, that’s actually an excellent point and she’s right,” Kimmel said on his talk show in response, per Page Six. “This is yet another example of the biased liberal media refusing to have people like Monica Lewinsky on their show.”
He was cut off by a video of Lewinsky’s appearance on his show. He teased he had her on “only one time” before two more of her appearances were shown.
Cupp’s comments come shortly after a spokesperson for Disney’s ABC confirmed to PEOPLE that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was indefinite hiatus — a move that came after Kimmel’s on air comments about Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10
On the Sept. 15 episode of the talk show, the comedian said: “The MAGA Gang (is) 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. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Prior to the episode, Kimmel had expressed his condolences to Kirk’s family on social media, writing: “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
In a statement, Nexstar Media, the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the U.S, shared that it “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.”
The company recently announced plans to acquire rival broadcast company Tegna for $6.2 billion, putting Nexstar in 80% of America’s TV-owning households, per a press release. The acquisition will require final approval from the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr praised Nexstar for pressuring ABC to pull Kimmel’s show, posting on X that “it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.”
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Following the announcement, President Donald Trump weighed in Kimmel’s hiatus and called it a firing.
“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else and he said a horrible thing about a great man named Charlie Kirk,” Trump said. “Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person, he had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago.”
Meanwhile, Wanda Sykes, comedian Mike Birbiglia, Ben Stiller and more voiced their disagreement with the move on social media, while former president Barack Obama was among the politicians to share their thoughts the following day.
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