Jimmy Kimmel Asked to Apologize and Pay Charlie Kirk’s Family if He Wants Suspension Lifted

Sinclair, the broadcasting company that makes up the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, is giving a list of demands for Jimmy Kimmel to return to air following the show being “indefinitely” pulled.

The media company said in a press release on Wednesday, Sept. 17, that it “objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the assassination of Charlie Kirk” and, after discussions with ABC, made the decision to “indefinitely preempt” Jimmy Kimmel Live! beginning that night.

“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” Sinclair vice chairman Jason Smith said in a statement. “We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities.”

“We appreciate FCC Chairman [Brendan] Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks,” Smith added.

The press release went on to note that Sinclair’s ABC stations in 30 U.S. markets — including KOMO in Seattle, Washington; WJLA in Washington, D.C.; KDNL in St. Louis, Missouri; KTUL in Tusla, Oklahoma; and KATU in Portland, Oregon, to name a few — will air a “special in remembrance” of Kirk on Friday in Kimmel’s timeslot.

The special will air on all Sinclair stations over the weekend and the company is offering the special to ABC affiliates across the country.

Sinclair then laid out a list of demands for Kimmel to meet before they will lift the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its ABC stations.

The first is for there to be “formal discussions” held with ABC “regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”

It also asked for Kimmel to “issue a direct apology to the Kirk family” and for him to make a “meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” Kirk’s nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses.

Sinclair ended the press release noting that “regardless of ABC’s plans for the future of the program,” it won’t return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to air until it is “confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.”

A spokesperson for Disney’s ABC confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday, Sept. 17, that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be pulled “indefinitely.” The news followed the host’s comments about the death of Kirk, the right-wing political commentator who was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10. He was 31.

During Kimmel’s opening monologue on the Monday, Sept. 15, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the comedian spoke of Kirk and Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old who has been charged with aggravated murder in connection with Kirk’s death.

“We hit 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 doing everything they can to score political points from it,” he said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

Kimmel then showed clips of President Donald Trump being asked about Kirk’s death, with one reporting offering him their condolences and asking how he’s holding up.

“I think very good, and by the way, right there where you see all the trucks, they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House,” Trump replied, adding the new ballroom at the White House will “be a beauty.”

“Yes,” Kimmel said as the camera cut back to him, “he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction.”

In the wake of Kirk’s murder, Kimmel took to social media to offer condolences to Kirk’s family.

“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he wrote at the time. “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.”

ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! also coincided with Nexstar Media’s decision to preempt airings of the program.

In a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday, Sept. 17, Nexstar, the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the U.S. with more than 200 television stations in 116 markets, said that its “owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight’s show.”

The statement added that the company “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.”

Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, elaborated on the decision in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.”

Alford continued, “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”

Nexstar recently announced plans to acquire rival broadcast company Tegna for $6.2 billion, a massive deal that would further consolidate the local television landscape and put Nexstar in 80% of America’s TV-owning households, according to a press release (current law permits no more than 39%). The acquisition will require final approval from the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission.

Carr quickly praised Nexstar for putting pressure on ABC to remove Kimmel, writing on X that “it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.”

Carr also praised Sinclair’s decision in an X post, thanking the company for “taking quick action that you consider responsive to the needs and values of the local communities you serve.”

While Trump has celebrated Kimmel being taken off the air, Kimmel has received support from Hollywood pals and industry unions.