In a previously unreported element of Jimmy Kimmel‘s brief suspension from ABC, representatives from Sinclair Broadcast Group reached out to Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, to see if they could help secure an apology from the late night host.
Erika Kirk revealed the correspondence in excerpt of an an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters. The interview will air in full on Wednesday, Nov, 5 at 8 PM during Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime.
“Jimmy Kimmel lied about your husband’s murder and didn’t really apologize, what would you say to Jimmy Kimmel,” Watters asked Kirk in the excerpt.
“Same thing I told Sinclair,” Kirk replied. “They asked, I haven’t really told anybody this, so they asked, ‘do you want Jimmy to give you an apology? Do you want to be on a show? How can we make it right?’ Through our team, I responded, I said, tell them thank you, we received their note. This is not our issue, not our mess. If you want to say I’m sorry to someone who’s grieving, go right ahead. But if that’s not in your heart, don’t do it. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.”
Kimmel, of course, was suspended by ABC after making a clumsily worded and insensitive-sounding comment about the reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. That suspension was driven in large part by a pair of major ABC affiliate owners: Nexstar and Sinclair, who each took issue publicly with the comments, and promised to preempt the show.
The suspension was brief, however, and Kimmel returned the following week, where he delivered an extended monologue in which he addressed his original comments, and the response to his suspension.
“I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human that you understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” Kimmel said. “Nor was my intent to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that to some it felt ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset — if the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d feel the same way.”
The fact that Sinclair reached out to Kirk underscores the extent to which the ABC affiliate owner was involved in the discussions with Disney. Both Sinclair and Nexstar continued to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the show returned, though those preemptions did not last long.
Sinclair said it had been engaging with ABC about a number of solutions, though ABC ultimately did not take them up on any of them.
“In our ongoing and constructive discussions with ABC, Sinclair proposed measures to strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue, including a network-wide independent ombudsman,” Sinclair said in a statement. “These proposals were suggested as collaborative efforts between the ABC affiliates and the ABC network. While ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make those decisions under our network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures could strengthen trust and accountability.”
