Jimmy Kimmel Admits He 'Prayed' ABC Would 'Cancel' His Late-night Talk Show... One Month After the Network Yanked the Program Over Charlie Kirk Assassination Remarks
Jimmy Kimmel's show didn't have many guests when it began.
Oct. 23 2025, Published 2:05 p.m. ET
After his show was put on pause and then returned, Jimmy Kimmel has made a staggering revelation that he "prayed" ABC would "cancel" his late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
"I didn't know what I was doing, and I would pray that they canceled the show sometimes," Kimmel dished to Ted Danson on his Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast.
Jimmy Kimmel 'Didn't Have Many Guests' When His Show Began
Jimmy Kimmel said he 'didn't want to quit' but 'couldn't do it anymore' when his show was in its early years.
"I didn’t want to quit because I didn’t want to disappoint all the many people who worked for me, but I couldn’t. I was just — I couldn’t do it anymore," he stated.
He noted one of the issues was that they "didn't have many guests" due to them airing "live at midnight."
"There were times it was 5:30 in the afternoon and we didn’t have guests for that night’s show, and I would have to just pick up the phone and call my friends," he elaborated.
"That's not how you go into a show," Kimmel said. "You can’t operate that way."
Jimmy Kimmel's Friends Came on His Show in the Early Days
Jimmy Kimmel shared his show eventually 'stabilized' as they 'figured out how to do it.'
At the time, Kimmel was dating Sarah Silverman, and he shared he relied on her help due to his lack of guests.
"I asked her to come on a lot and I love her," he noted.
Kimmel also called on other friends to help him at the time, including Adam Carolla, David Alan Grier, Anthony Anderson and Kathy Griffin.
"God bless them, because I needed them," he admitted. "And they were always ready at a moment’s notice to come on."
Eventually, the show got off the ground and became a hit.
"It stabilized and we figured out how to do it," he concluded, noting they figured out "running bits" and other things that kept the show "afloat."
Why Was Jimmy Kimmel's Show Suspended?
Jimmy Kimmel's show was suspended after comments he made about Charlie Kirk.
After Kimmel talked about Charlie Kirk's assassination on his show, his show was suspended indefinitely.
Specifically, he said the "MAGA gang" was "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them."
He also alleged they were attempting to "score political points from it."
Following the comments, Nexstar said its "owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight's show."
The company shared it "strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming."
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say When His Show Returned?
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Jimmy Kimmel said it was 'never' his 'intention to make light of the murder of a young man' upon his return.
Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar's broadcasting division, confirmed the move at the time, saying, "Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.
"Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."
Shortly after the show was taken off the air, it was brought back.
"I do want to make something clear, because it's important to me as a human and that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man," he shared on his return episode.
"I posted a message on Instagram the day he was killed, sending love to (Kirk's) family and asking for compassion, and I meant it, and I still do, nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual," he added.
"If the situation was reversed, there's a good chance I'd have felt the same way. I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don't agree on politics at all, I don't think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone."
