Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News host, reportedly said Wednesday he was “sad” to see comedian Jimmy Kimmel removed from the air after his controversial comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. But O’Reilly insisted the suspension was less about censorship than about “responsibility.”
“I have something to say about this because I know Jimmy Kimmel a little bit,” O’Reilly told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo. “When I went on his program when I was at Fox News, I had a good rapport with him. We had a lot of laughs. He was a gentleman.”
That cordial impression, O’Reilly suggested, changed with the rise of Donald J. Trump. “But then when Trump got power, he changed. Mr. Kimmel changed into more of a bitter comedian, and I noticed it,” O’Reilly said. Still, he praised Kimmel as “a hero dad,” referencing the comedian’s devotion to his young son. “So when I saw this today, I was sad. I didn’t celebrate it like some people did. I don’t like people losing their jobs. But what Kimmel did is inexplicable to me.”
Kimmel was suspended on Wednesday after ABC determined his Monday night monologue — in which he falsely suggested that the suspect in Kirk’s assassination, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was a Trump-aligned supporter of the MAGA movement — crossed a line.
The comments sparked swift outrage among conservatives and drew the rebuke of President Trump himself.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent.”
O’Reilly, while refraining from celebrating, did not excuse Kimmel’s remarks. “He had to know on Monday in his dialogue how raw the country was over this assassination of Charlie Kirk. He had to know that,” O’Reilly said. “And to use his monologue, which is usually comedic, to mislead the entire country by implying that MAGA Trump supporters were really behind the murder, to do that… You have a producer on your program. Did no one red flag you on this? Did no one say anything about this?”
For O’Reilly, the issue was not about silencing dissenting views but about honesty. “This isn’t about censorship, alright? This is about responsibility,” he concluded. “And as you pointed out correctly, every corporation has a responsibility to make sure the product it is selling is an honest product, and by saying that MAGA might have been responsible for murder, not only is that defamatory, but it’s outrageous.”
The controversy marks another flashpoint in the long-running battle between conservative America and late-night comedy, which has leaned increasingly partisan in recent years.
Where O’Reilly emphasized regret over Kimmel’s downfall, Trump and many of his allies celebrated it as overdue accountability.
Kimmel, once known for mainstream entertainment and self-deprecating humor, now finds himself sidelined indefinitely — not for telling a joke that bombed, but for a remark that critics argue crossed into outright defamation during a moment of national grief.
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