After 23 seasons, 22 years, and 3,588 episodes, this could be the end of the road for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The popular comedian has kept us entertained for decades, but in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's murder, ABC has placed the late-night talk show on an indefinite hiatus.
Amid calls for free speech and others claiming that jokes have gone too far, the political divide is only widening after Charlie Kirk was shot dead while giving a talk at Utah Valley University.
While Kirk was known for his own outspoken views and arguing about free speech, few expected him to be killed in front of a crowd of thousands during his American Comeback Tour. 22-year-old Tyler Robinson now faces charges for Kirk's murder, with questions about his motives and the FBI continuing to investigate members of a Discord group chat.
There are plenty of stories about people losing their jobs for 'mocking' Kirk's death, and it seems that Jimmy Kimmel is no stranger to this.
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Despite an outpouring of support from the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Stiller, Alison Brie, and Halsey, others, including President Donald Trump, have celebrated the cancellation.
Someone who is no stranger to feeling the wrath of ABC is Roseanne Barr. After being the title character of Roseanne from 1988 to 1997, she also returned to the role for a much-hyped revival in 2018.
Despite strong ratings, Roseanne was dropped due to Barr making a tweet that many deemed as 'racist'. Responding to a thread from senior Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, Barr said she looked like the offspring of "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes." Barr was initially defensive but then shared an apology for making 'a bad joke', later releasing a video where she said she "thought the b*tch was white" and claiming she was being branded a racist because she voted for Donald Trump.
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Three weeks after Roseanne was cancelled, ABC commissioned The Conners as a spin-off with the same cast and crew (minus Barr).
Barr took a hiatus from social media, but following a Cancel This! comeback comedy special in 2023, she's continued to be vocal online.
Posting on X, Barr made a jibe at the network as she replied to someone criticizing Kimmel's cancellation. The 72-year-old wrote: "Yeah imagine an administration putting pressure on a television channel to fire a comedian they didn’t like."
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This stirred up typical political unrest, with some supporting her and others calling her out.
One Barr champion added: "I'm old enough to remember when ABC canceled Rosanne’s show for a bad tweet and nearly every liberal outlet celebrated it.”
Another said: "Everyone ranting about freedom of speech, did you all forget what happened to Roseanne Barr and Gina Carano?"
Many pointed out that Barr's firing actually happened under Trump's first term in 2018.
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One critic chimed in, "You are either completely ignorant or lying on purpose, hoping your followers won't fact-check your ridiculous claim," while someone else concluded: "The ADMINISTRATION didn't have a F-ing thing to do with it you idiot!! STOP THE BLAME GAME, we're on to you fools."