Jimmy Fallon pulls out of NYC festival session hours after Jimmy Kimmel’s show suspension

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Jimmy Fallon, who was supposed to speak at Fast Company's Innovation Festival, abruptly canceled his scheduled appearance in New York City on Thursday, September 18, the organizers confirmed.

The abrupt cancellation comes following ABC’s indefinite suspension of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' after Jimmy Kimmel made remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s shooting.

Officials say Jimmy Fallon pulled out at the last moment

Festival officials informed Adweek that Jimmy Fallon was slated to join a session titled 'Staying On Brand' but pulled out at the last minute.

The session went ahead with marketing executive Bozoma Saint John and Fast Company editor Jeff Beer. No explanation was given for Fallon’s absence.

Interestingly, Jimmy Kimmel’s removal has sparked fierce debate, as critics accused ABC and its parent company, Disney, of bowing to political pressure.

On Wednesday, September 17, ABC pulled Kimmel’s late-night show off the air indefinitely after his remarks about Kirk’s death drew fire from affiliates, regulators, and the White House.

The network announced the same day that 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' would be suspended after Nexstar Communications refused to carry the show.

Nexstar Broadcasting President Andrew Alford said Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse".

Jimmy Kimmel suggested Tyler Robinson was a pro-Trump Republican

During his Monday, September 15, and Tuesday, September 16 monologues, Kimmel criticized Republicans’ response to Charlie Kirk’s murder and suggested that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was a pro-Trump Republican.

“The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said during his Monday monologue.

Notably, Robinson grew up in a conservative Mormon household in Utah but turned sharply left in the last year. Investigators said he embraced pro-LGBTQ causes.

Moreover, he told his transgender partner that he killed the conservative icon because he had “had enough of his hatred.”

Furthermore, Jimmy Kimmel also mocked President Donald Trump’s public response to the killing and said, “This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

He also ridiculed Vice President JD Vance and FBI Director Kash Patel’s handling of the case.

Following this, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr blasted Kimmel’s comments as “truly sick” and warned Disney, ABC’s parent company, that the agency had grounds to hold it accountable for misinformation.

During the Benny Johnson podcast, Carr said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

After the show’s suspension, Trump celebrated on Truth Social, writing, “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done."

Trump also called Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers “two total losers” after ABC suspended Kimmel’s show.

The POTUS wrote on Truth Social that Kimmel had “ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even [Stephen] Colbert, if that’s possible.”

“That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it, NBC,” Trump added.

Jimmy Kimmel is livid after ABC axes his show

Jimmy Kimmel is said to be “absolutely livid” after ABC abruptly yanked his late-night show following his controversial tirade about Charlie Kirk’s killing.

Kimmel held a tense crunch meeting with top brass but is already plotting an escape route, Daily Mail reported.

"Jimmy is pissed over the decision to suspend him and the show, and he isn’t going to take this lightly, as he is actively looking for ways to get out of his contract. This is the last straw, and Jimmy is now looking to forever break his relationship with ABC,” a source informed the outlet.

The source added that Kimmel is already in talks to hop over to Stephen Colbert’s turf.

"Stephen Colbert is already looking to get Jimmy on his show as a guest in the next couple of days or within the week. Now they both are in the same predicament, being against the Trump administration, and they are now looking to do something together to fight for what they believe in. They both don’t want Trump to win in any way or fashion at all, and this has lit an extreme fire under Jimmy’s a*s to continue to tell it like it is and be real to himself,” the source mentioned.