Jimmy Fallon suddenly cancelled his spot at a New York business convention right after Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air. Fallon had been lined up for a session about staying on brand but the organizers sent out a quick note saying he was no longer coming.
The timing made people link it with Kimmel being dropped the night before. His show was yanked after he went after Republicans over how they reacted to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He said: “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who [assassinated] Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Kimmel also mocked Donald Trump by saying: “This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.” He added digs at Vice President JD Vance and FBI director Kash Patel. The FCC boss Brendan Carr slammed the comments as “truly sick” and warned Disney they could face consequences for spreading misinformation.
Carr said on a podcast: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” After ABC pulled the plug, Trump praised them on his site, saying: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.” He then pushed NBC to also get rid of Fallon and Seth Meyers, calling them losers with bad ratings.
Nexstar, which controls a large block of ABC affiliates, was the breaking point. Their leader Andrew Alford, called Kimmel’s statements “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse” and refused to carry the program. That sealed Kimmel’s fate.
The fallout even had Barack Obama weigh in, accusing Trump of dividing the nation. Social media had mixed feelings, with some saying cancel culture was being used unfairly. A few still believed Fallon could avoid the same end since many see him as more balanced and still an entertainer who appeals to a wide audience.
