A top broadcasting executive for the Sinclair organization says that Jimmy Kimmel‘s fate ultimately lies in Disney’s hands.
Rob Weisbord, who serves as Sinclair’s chief operating officer and president of Local Media, was asked about the future of Kimmel’s ABC late night program Tuesday on the red carpet at New York City’s Ziegfeld Ballroom.
Weisbord told Daily Mail that the network’s parent company Disney will ultimately decide on if Jimmy Kimmel Live! will continue long-term, after Kimmel was suspended earlier this month over comments he made about the reaction to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in a monologue.
‘I think that’s a Disney decision, that’s not an affiliate decision,’ said Weisbord, who was among those being honored at the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame.
Weisbord continued, ‘We leave it at the hands of Disney and Disney corporate to make those decisions’ about Kimmel, whose ratings have been up and down since his return to the air.
The TV executive answered a number of questions about the controversy surrounding Kimmel that has dominated the headlines the last few weeks.
A top broadcasting executive for the Sinclair organization says that Jimmy Kimmel ‘s fate ultimately lies in Disney’s hands
‘I look at everything as a moment in time – we’ve had great discussions with Disney and we’ve passed that moment and we move forward,’ Weisbord said.
Weisbord said ‘it’s all about healing the country and really not being desensitized to murders and assassinations.’
Kimmel’s offending remarks came on his September 15 broadcast as he commented on the fallout of Kirk’s assassination on a Utah college campus at the hands of a 22-year-old suspect.
Kimmel said, ‘We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.
‘And doing everything they can to score political points from it.’
ABC subsequently suspended him, and affiliates including Sinclair asked for an apology and donation to the late Kirk’s advocacy group, Turning Point USA.
Kimmel on his September 23 broadcast – his first back from the suspension – stressed he had not been attempting to make light of Kirk’s death at 31 with his prior comments.
‘I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human,’ Kimmel said.
Kimmel on his September 23 broadcast – his first back from the suspension – stressed he had not been attempting to make light of Kirk’s death at 31 with his prior comments
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was pictured in the moments prior to his tragic death at 31
He continued: ‘And that is, you understand that 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 denied that he was looking to put blame on any specific groups for the tragic murder.
‘That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make,’ Kimmel said.
Kimmel called shooting suspect Tyler Robinson ‘obviously a deeply disturbed individual;’ he said he understood that some of his initial comments ‘felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both’ so soon after the senseless killing of Kirk.
Asked about the honors he was receiving on Tuesday, Weisbord said that it was ‘very humbling’ and ‘the culmination of a lot of hard work and output.’
He added, ‘It’s it really is a testament to the team that I work with – you can’t get this award as an individual, it’s really a celebration of a great team and great mentor.’