Erika Kirk breaks silence on Jimmy Kimmel ABC controversy after husband’s death
Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, opened up about the push for an apology from Jimmy Kimmel in her first interview since her husband’s death
Erika Kirk opened up about not wanting an apology from Kimmel
Erika Kirk didn’t hold back during her forthcoming interview with Jesse Watters, making her feelings crystal clear about Jimmy Kimmel after her emotional battle cry following her husband’s death.
The ABC host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! faced a brief suspension in September following controversial comments about the killing of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, he later admitted he didn’t see a problem with, raising alarm bells about possible Trump administration interference in late-night television, where hosts regularly lampoon the President and his administration.
Within days, Kimmel returned to his show amid public outcry directed at Disney, ABC’s parent corporation, and affiliate stations that had initially extended his absence. These stations were also forced to reinstate him within a week.
Now, the 36-year-old widow of Charlie is breaking her silence on the controversy, revealing to the 47-year-old Watters her thoughts on Sinclair Broadcast Group’s well-publicized demand that the 57-year-old comedian issue an apology, reports the Mirror US.
While acknowledging her gratitude for their backing, she made it plain she had no interest in a hollow apology from Kimmel.
“I told them thank you, we received their note. This is not our issue. It’s not our mess,” she said.
“If you wanna say I’m sorry to someone who’s grieving, go right ahead. But if that’s not in your heart, then don’t do it. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.”
Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested and charged with the murder of Charlie Kirk a few days later.
During his monologue on September 15, Jimmy Kimmel suggested that Robinson might be associated with “MAGA,” and accused them of using the murder to gain “political points.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel stated at the time.
However, on September 17, following threats of potential repercussions from Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Carr, Disney-owned ABC pulled Kimmel off the air.
While appearing on a podcast, Carr hinted at the FCC’s power to revoke licenses from syndicate stations and broadcast owners, stating they could do things either the “easy way or the hard way,”.
Soon after, Sinclair and Nexstar–the two largest ABC Station owners in the country–both announced they would be pulling Kimmel from their various station lineups. Disney followed suit shortly thereafter.
In a statement, Disney explained its decision to suspend Kimmel, stating that it “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” and labeling some of his comments as “ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
At the time, Sinclair released a statement describing the remarks as “inappropriate” and “deeply insensitive,” demanding Kimmel issue a direct apology to Kirk’s family and make a substantial donation to both his family and Turning Point.
Notably, Nexstar, Sinclair, and Disney all had pending merger agreements that required FCC approval during Kimmel’s suspension. Both Nexstar and Sinclair required the organization’s authorization for deals that would allow them to surpass the FCC’s 39% broadcast TV station ownership limit, while Disney was pursuing ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network.
Nevertheless, following boycott threats, Disney and ABC announced Kimmel’s return to air just six days into his suspension, with Sinclair and Nexstar following suit shortly afterward.
During his comeback show, Kimmel directly addressed Donald Trump’s involvement in his suspension, highlighting what he characterized as transparent efforts to remove Kimmel and other Trump-critical late-night hosts from television.
“He was able to squeeze Colbert out of CBS, then he turned his sights on me, and now he’s openly rooting for NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers and the hundreds of Americans who work for their shows who don’t make millions of dollars,” he stated at the time.
