Overview
- On a Nov. 6 We Can Do Hard Things podcast, Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney said they told their children the president "took him off the air" when Jimmy Kimmel Live! was briefly suspended in September.
- McNearney, the show’s executive producer and co‑head writer, said she has lost relationships with Trump‑voting relatives and described the strain as a matter of values rather than party politics.
- She said she emailed family before the 2024 election urging them not to vote for Trump, adding that most ignored the messages or responded negatively.
- ABC/Disney pulled the show on Sept. 17 after Kimmel’s Sept. 15 monologue referencing the MAGA reaction to Charlie Kirk’s killing drew pushback from Nexstar, Sinclair and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, then reinstated it less than a week later.
- Kimmel has continued to criticize Trump since returning, and the couple recalled fearing the show might not come back as audience members were sent home the night the suspension was announced.