Fears for US free speech as Jimmy Kimmel show is pulled by network

Donald Trump celebrated ABC's decision to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show, saying yesterday that the comedian was "not a talented person" who "had very bad ratings".

- Jonathan Yerushalmy Joseph Gedeon Washington

"Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk," Trump told reporters during his state visit to the UK. "Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago."

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended "indefinitely" on Wednesday night after the US government put pressure on the Disney-owned broadcaster to crack down on the comedian, who had accused Trump's political movement of exploiting the killing of Charlie Kirk.

During his Monday monologue, less than a week after Kirk was shot dead while on a speaking tour in Utah, Kimmel said: "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the Maga gang trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

The suspect, Tyler Robinson, has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of firearm and witness tampering, and could face the death penalty.