Former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann has sparked severe backlash over his vile comments about the late Charlie Kirk in response to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC.
Late-night talk show host Kimmel was pulled off the air ‘indefinitely’ by ABC on Wednesday over his divisive comments regarding the assassination of political commentator Kirk, who was shot dead in Utah last week.
The veteran host’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been removed from the network ‘for the foreseeable future,’ a spokesperson announced.
Many left-wing leaning celebrities leapt to Kimmel’s defense following the drastic move. However, Olbermann’s retaliation came in extreme bad taste when he suggested that Kirk was burning in hell.
Olbermann, the former host of ESPN’s SportsCenter, lambasted broadcast group Sinclair for its assertion that Kimmel’s removal from the airwaves was ‘not enough’ and that ‘additional action’ should be taken.
‘Burn in hell, Sinclair,’ Olbermann wrote on social media. ‘Alongside Charlie Kirk.’
Former ESPN host Keith Olbermann (L) sparks outrage with his comment on Charlie Kirk (R)
Olbermann reacted to Jimmy Kimmel being removed from the air indefinitely on Wednesday
The erstwhile MSNBC and ESPN host doubled down on his support of Kimmel that ‘nothing [he] said was untrue.’
He later turned his attack on to ABC and parent company Disney, accusing the organization of ‘prostituting themselves for Trump’ after Kimmel’s ‘truth telling about Charlie Kirk’s hate speech’ and MAGA’s ‘exploitation of his death.’
Olbermann’s posts sparked outrage on social media with users branding him ‘vile scum’ and urging him to ‘get help.’
‘Late Stage Leftism,’ one user wrote. ‘Don’t become an angry, old, washed up Leftist. THIS is what happens.’
‘Please do not delete this. Everyone needs to see it and to stop denying how wicked your party has become,’ added another.
Sinclair had released a lengthy statement condemning Kimmel’s comments about the death of Kirk, which had come during his monologue on Monday’s show.
‘Sinclair will not lift the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability,’ the station said in a statement.
‘Regardless of ABC’s plans for the future of the program, Sinclair intends not to return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to our air until we are confident that appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.’
The former SportsCenter anchor suggested that Kirk was burning in hell in a social media post
Kimmel made controversial statements about Kirk on Monday following his assassination last week at Utah Valley University – and said during his monologue that the ‘MAGA gang’ was trying to gain political points over Kirk’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,’ the host said.
The suspected shooter Tyler Robinson, 22, has since been taken into custody and appeared in court on Tuesday on multiple charges, including aggravated murder.
Kimmel also falsely insinuated that Robinson was conservative – despite investigators stating he has far-left ideologies and was also in a romantic relationship with his transgender roommate.
The network’s affiliate group, Nexstar, additionally shared on Wednesday that it ‘strongly objects’ to Kimmel’s comments and ‘will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.’
Kimmel was reportedly set to address his remarks on his show Wednesday night, before he received news that he had been axed, according to Deadline.
He is now said to be livid over the sudden change of plans.
The television personality’s remarks had caught instant flak from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson earlier on Wednesday that he was considering an investigation into Kimmel and his network ABC for his claims.
Kirk (pictured with his family) was a co-founder of the political nonprofit Turning Point USA
‘When you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel, it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible,’ Carr told Johnson.
‘As you’ve indicated, there are avenues here for the FCC, so there… are some ways in which I need to be a little bit careful because we could be called ultimately to be a judge on some of these claims that come up,’ Carr said.
Following the news of Kimmel’s cancelation, Carr told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he was simply ‘suffering the consequences’ of his actions.
He accused the networks of subsidizing late night talk shows, and said that the FCC expects them ‘to broadly serve the public interests’ as he faces an internal divide at the agency – which is leaving him and his former protege Nathan Simington trying to curry favor with President Donald Trump.
‘I’m very glad to see that America’s broadcasters are standing up to serve the interest of their community,’ Carr said, after arguing that late night hosts are ‘enforcing a very narrow political ideology.’
