Jimmy Kimmel Makes First Public Appearance Following ABC Show Suspension

Jimmy Kimmel was spotted out in public amid claims he "looks like he's been crying" and accusations from Donald Trump that he's "not a talented person."

On a warm Thursday afternoon, September 18, 2025, in Los Angeles, acclaimed talk show host Jimmy Kimmel made a public appearance, just one day after ABC abruptly pulled the plug on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

What appeared to be a casual stop at his attorney's office quickly spiraled into a full-blown online firestorm, as photos of the late-night host emerged showing what some netizens believed to be a defeated man behind the wheel of his car.

Behind the Smile: Netizens Say Jimmy Kimmel Is 'Hiding the Tears'

Clad in a crisp navy button-down and black slacks, Kimmel, 57, was seen stepping out of a sleek black Audi — but the swagger, online viewers believe, was gone.

Clutching a notepad, car keys, and a wallet, and wearing dark sunglasses, the host gave a brief smile to waiting photographers. Still, his demeanor did not go unnoticed by online spectators. One particular moment, captured as he sat behind the wheel, showed the late-night host with his head against his hand and a blank expression on his face.

Kimmel's outing quickly sparked debate online, with spectators dissecting everything from his facial expression to his overall demeanor. Some were convinced there was more beneath the surface.

"Looks like he's been crying 🙁," remarked one commenter, while another suggested, "He's smiling, but he's crying inside." Echoing that sentiment, someone else added, "Hiding the tears." Others noted a perceived change in his appearance, with one person stating, "Doesn't look like Jimmy Kimmel."

Meanwhile, not everyone agreed with the somber interpretations. "The guy looks happy like he needed the break from abc [sic] lol," opined one netizen. "He seems ok," observed another, while a more upbeat viewer chimed in with, "Unbothered 🔥🔥🔥🔥🙌 love it." One comment, laced with irony, read, "The smile of a man that's never going to have to work a day in his life again 😂."

ABC Pulls the Plug…Indefinitely

The public sighting follows confirmation made on Wednesday, September 17, from Disney's ABC that it would be suspending "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" from its schedule indefinitely.

The sudden move follows a bombshell announcement from Nexstar Media Group — the country's largest local broadcast company — refusing to air Kimmel's show across more than 200 television stations it controls in 116 markets.

In a pointed statement shared with People, Nexstar clarified that its ABC-affiliated stations would "preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight's show."

Nexstar didn't mince words, as the company also stated that it "strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets."

The Monologue That Changed Everything

At the center of the firestorm is Kimmel's Monday night monologue, where he addressed the political discourse surrounding Charlie Kirk's assassination.

"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said during the show.

He continued, "In between the finger-pointing, the White House flew the flag at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president was taking this."

The broadcast then cut to footage of U.S. President Donald Trump — outside the White House, coolly responding to questions about how he was coping with Kirk's death.

Trump responded, "I think very good. And by the way [...] They've just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House, which is something they've been trying to get [...] for about 150 years, and it's going to be a beauty."

Returning to the studio, Kimmel retorted, "Yes, he's at the fourth stage of grief, construction. Demolition. Construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish. OK? And it didn't just happen once."

Donald Trump Hits Back: 'They Should Have Fired Him a Long Time Ago'

By Thursday, September 18, Trump himself took a scorched-earth approach, offering no sympathy for the suspended comedian during a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Chequers, England.

When asked by a British reporter about the state of free speech and Kimmel's dismissal, Donald Trump unleashed a brutal assessment.

"Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else," he stated. "And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk, and Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person [...] They should have fired him a long time ago. So, you know, you can call that free speech or not, he was fired for lack of talent."

As the dust continues to settle, all eyes remain on Kimmel and whether his silence will soon give way to a statement of his own.