Stephen A. Smith admits Jimmy Kimmel didn’t make ‘wisest move’

Stephen A. Smith has now weighed in on Jimmy Kimmel’s eponymous show being taken off the air indefinitely by ABC. 

The ESPN personality spoke on Kimmel, who was suspended by ABC for controversial comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during his show on Monday, in a video posted to YouTube on Thursday, saying he was “disturbed” by the move. 

“To hear the news of Jimmy Kimmel being taken off the air, I was not happy about it. Not at all,” Smith said. “Because I do think he’s a good man. I do think his heart is in the right place. I do think he’s done an incredible service to the ABC and Walt Disney family spanning decades.

“I certainly hope that ultimately he ends up back on the air, and if he doesn’t end up back on the air, I hope he lives a very long and well and prosperous life.”

At the same time, Smith wasn’t sure Kimmel’s segment was the best way to handle the situation.

“Having said all of that, that doesn’t mean I’m not entitled to say that what transpired between him and [President Donald Trump] didn’t appear to be the wisest move in the world. Now, what am I talking about? I’m talking about Jimmy Kimmel on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ the other night.”

Here’s the latest on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension after Charlie Kirk comments

Smith then went tirade on cancel culture, television advertising and the fall of late-night television, among other topics.

Kimmel is in hot water after he claimed the “MAGA gang” was looking to score political points off of Kirk’s assassination at a college event last week in Utah. 

“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 Monday’s show.

“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.”

Kimmel is reportedly “absolutely f–king livid” about his show being suspended. During a call with Disney exec Dana Walden on Wednesday in which he learned the fate of the show, Kimmel said he had no plans to apologize for his remarks.

Trump took to Truth Social to comment on the news, writing, “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”