Fox News’ Bill Hemmer made a wild reach on Wednesday when he tried to link a shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas to Jimmy Kimmel’s apparent lack of remorse after his controversial comments about Charlie Kirk’s death.
Three people were injured at a Dallas ICE facility when a gunman opened fire from an adjacent rooftop. Law enforcement confirmed that at least one victim died at the scene, and the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities confirmed that no officers were hurt in the attack.
The FBI Director Kash Patel shared a photo of bullet casings on social media, with “anti-ICE” scrawled on one of them.
On Tuesday night, Kimmel returned to television after he was briefly suspended for accusing MAGA Republicans of trying to score “political points” in the aftermath of political influencer Kirk’s shooting, and “trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
ABC’s parent company Disney said they had “thoughtful conversations” with the host over his “ill-timed” comments ahead of his return.
Hammer made the comments on Fox News’ Outnumbered show on Wednesday during a segment discussing the shooting and anti-ICE sentiment, Mediaite reports.
“This is why Jimmy Kimmel needed to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ And he didn’t,” Hemmer said.
He continued, insisting that Kimmel needed to “call Erika Kirk” — Kirk’s widow — and “talk to her.”
“And he needs to go on his program and say, I had this lovely conversation with this grieving widow. And this is what we discussed,” Hemmer said. “That’s the proper way you manage this. And that did not happen.”
In an emotional monologue Tuesday, Kimmel told his audience that he had sent love to Kirk’s family, and said Erika’s eulogy to her late husband on Sunday “touched me deeply.”
“On Sunday, Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband. She forgave him,” Kimmel said. “That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply.”
Hemmer wasn’t the only conservative frustrated by Kimmel’s return, however.
“Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make. Nextstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice,” Andrew Kolvet, Kirk’s former executive producer and Turning Point USA’s spokesperson, wrote in an X post.
Sinclair and Nexstar are companies that own broadcast stations across the U.S. Both have said that Kimmel’s show will remain off air in some markets.
MAGA loyalist Megyn Kelly, who was fired by NBC News in 2018 after she questioned why dressing up in blackface for a Halloween costume is unacceptable, was also peeved by Kimmel’s return.
“Must be nice to be a leftist. ‘Cancellation’ lasts five nights and you’re right back under klieg lights. On the right, you’re underground,” she wrote.
Disney, which owns ABC and thus Kimmel’s show, has faced criticism from all sides amid the controversy.
Republicans complained about Kimmel’s comments, then liberals responded to his cancellation by demanding a boycott. Now that Kimmel is back, some conservatives are once again calling for their own boycott of Disney.
Kimmel was thankful to Disney and ABC for welcoming him back after the ordeal, but he joked that Federal Communications Commission boss Brendan Carr and Trump were going to have to “release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.”
