Kimmel saying he never meant ‘to make light’ of Kirk’s murder ‘not good enough’: Turning Point spokesman
Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s effort to clarify comments he made about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, which led to his show’s brief suspension, was seemingly “not good enough” for Turning Point USA.
A spokesperson for the conservative organization, co-founded by Kirk in 2012, alleged his explanation barely scratched the surface.
“Not good enough. Jimmy, it’s simple,” TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet wrote on social platform X early Wednesday morning. “Here’s what you need to say: ‘I’m sorry for saying the shooter was MAGA. He was not. He was of the left. I apologize to the Kirk family for lying. Please accept my sincere apology. I will do better. I was wrong.’”
Kimmel returned to the air Tuesday night after ABC lifted the suspension following tense backlash. He had been sidelined over his monologue last Monday, when he accused conservatives of “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.”
Kimmel also joked that President Trump was grieving Kirk, a close ally of the administration, the way “a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
“I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human: And that is you understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” an emotional Kimmel said Tuesday. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”
He also called the accused assassin of Kirk, Tyler Robinson, a “deeply disturbed individual” and said he did not intend “to blame any specific group for [Kirk’s murder].”
“I understand that to some, that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both,” the host continued. “And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”
Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder and six other state charges last week after the fatal shooting of Kirk in Utah. In charging Robinson, prosecutors relayed the accused gunman’s mother telling investigators her son “had become more political and had started to lean more towards the left — becoming more pro-gay and trans rights oriented.”
In text messages with his partner, who prosecutors and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said is transgender, Robinson said, “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
The preempting of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was heavily criticized on both sides of the aisle. Kimmel also received support from his fellow late-night hosts and a slew of other celebrities, who turned their ire on ABC and its parent company Disney.
On the other side, Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had praised the decision to pull Kimmel off the air.
Carr slammed Kimmel’s initial monologue, telling conservative commentator Benny Johnson that broadcasters should “step up and say this garbage to the extent that that’s what comes down the pipe in the future isn’t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities.”
Hours later, Nexstar Media Group, which owns The Hill, announced its local ABC affiliates would preempt broadcasts of the show, a decision it upheld on Tuesday despite the comedian’s return. Sinclair Broadcast Group is also electing not to air Kimmel on its affiliate stations.