‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’: The ABC talk show's biggest controversies

2013: Protests erupt over “Kids Table” segment

In October 2013, more than 100 protestors hit the streets of San Francisco to call for Kimmel’s firing and a boycott of his talk show after one sketch had the comedian moderating a “Kids Table” discussion about the money the United States owed China, per Time. When one of his young interviewees suggested killing everyone in China, Kimmel laughed and called it “an interesting idea.”

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus also sent a letter to ABC to call out the “racially insensitive” segment, and before long, both Kimmel and ABC apologized. “We would never purposefully broadcast anything to upset the Chinese community, Asian community, anyone of Chinese descent, or any community at large,” the network said in a statement.

2011: Viewers sour on Halloween candy pranks

Across many Halloweens, Kimmel has encouraged parents to prank their kids by pretending they ate their kids’ Halloween candy and to post the results on YouTube. And those stunts have turned some child development professionals off. “Good adult role models are essential for teaching kids how to avoid bullying,” pediatrician Kathleen Berchelmann, MD, wrote in a ChildrensMD post in November 2011. “Although Jimmy Kimmel’s YouTube challenge may not be a crime, Kimmel is encouraging parents to model behavior that would be a crime if their kids repeated it at school.”

In October 2017, child psychiatrist Meg van Achterberg derided the recurring segment in a Washington Post opinion. “The children in the clips — most of whom appear to be between 3 and 7 years old — are reacting not so much to the temporary loss of candy but to a sense of betrayal that will linger long after their parents own up to the joke,” van Achterberg said. “When we consider that the sole aim of this betrayal seems to be the amusement of other people, in this case millions of strangers watching on TV, we’ve got to question the values of all the adults involved.”

2021: Kimmel jokingly proposes denying ICU beds to unvaccinated patients

In September 2021, Kimmel returned from a summer JKL hiatus with strong words regarding COVID-19 vaccine objectors amid hospital overcrowding — especially the “pan-dimwits” taking a livestock dewormer called ivermectin in an attempt to treat the virus, against medical advice.

“That choice doesn’t seem so tough to me,” Kimmel said of the overcrowding issue. “Vaccinated person having a heart attack? Yes, come right on in. We’ll take care of you. Unvaccinated guy who gobbled horse goo? Rest in peace, wheezy.”

Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz was one of the people who lashed out at Kimmel’s comments. “Sick. Angry Leftist to anyone who disagrees with him on vaccines: ‘Rest in peace, wheezy.’ THAT’S AN ACTUAL QUOTE,” Cruz tweeted at the time. “I’ve been vaccinated, but I don’t wish death on those who make different choices.”

2025: Kimmel’s Charlie Kirk comments get him suspended from the show

Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September 2025, Kimmel hit a nerve with his commentary about the conservative activist’s murder. “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,” Kimmel said on the show.

Even though Kimmel wasn’t saying outright that Kirk’s killer was MAGA — and seemingly focused more on MAGA supporters’ reaction to the crime, as The Hollywood Reporter’s James Hibberd pointed out — he faced fierce blowback. Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr threatened punitive action for Kimmel, broadcast station owners Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their stations, and ABC suspended production on the talk show for days.

Kimmel’s defenders, meanwhile, deemed his suspension an assault on free speech and yet more evidence of an authoritarian regime in the United States.

Upon his return to airwaves, Kimmel told viewers how he really felt. “I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human, and that is [that] you understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said in his monologue that night.

The Trumps revolt over his anti-WHCD sentiments

On April 23, Kimmel made comments about the first lady and Jeffrey Epstein. During his fake WHCA dinner monologue, Kimmel said, “Oh, by the way, before we go any further, Melania, this is Donald. Donald, this is Melania. That was my impression of Jeffrey Epstein.”

He went on to joke, “Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

After the dinner erupted into chaos after a gunman attempted to enter the hotel during Saturday’s actual WHCD, the first lady demanded Jimmy Kimmel Live! be shuttered.

“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she wrote. “People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough.  It is time for ABC to take a stand.  How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community?”

Donald Trump then echoed the call, writing on Truth Social, “Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking. He showed a fake video of the First Lady, Melania, and our son, Barron, like they were actually sitting in his studio, listening to him speak, which they weren’t, and never would be. He then stated, “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” A day later a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives. He was there for a very obvious and sinister reason. I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC