Jimmy Kimmel’s wife reveals what their daughter asked after his show was suspended
Jimmy Kimmel’s wife reveals what their daughter asked after his show was suspended
Marina WattsMon, August 24, 2026 at 3:57 PM UTC
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Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney at the Peabody Awards at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills in May 2026Credit: Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImageKey Points -
Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney opened up about their children’s reaction to Jimmy Kimmel Live being suspended last year.
“Jane said, ‘Is this Donald Trump’s fault?’ We said yes,” McNearney said of their 12-year-old daughter.
Kimmel’s show was temporarily pulled off air following comments the comedian made about Charlie Kirk’s death.
Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney are keeping it real with their kids.
The couple reflected on his suspension from ABC, which happened almost one year ago in September 2025. Kimmel’s eponymous show Jimmy Kimmel Livewas temporarily pulled off the air by ABC after he made comments about Charlie Kirk’s killing.
When asked about how Kimmel and McNearney told their kids, 12-year-old Jane and 9-year-old Billy, about what was happening with his show, she said that Jane brought it up first.
“We said we had to explain what was going on because there were helicopters and noise outside our house, and also they were still in school and this was becoming a very huge story,” McNearney, who serves as executive producer/co-head writer on Kimmel’s show, said during a recent appearance on Armchair Expert.
Jimmy Kimmel on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ in June 2026Credit: Disney/Randy Holmes
“We didn’t know how big it would be and we didn’t know if the kids were going to hear about it at school. So we said the show has been cancelled for a little bit. And Jane said, ‘Is this Donald Trump’s fault?’ We said yes,” added McNearney.
“I said to Jim the other day, I’m like, ‘What a wild childhood for these kids to know that the President of the United States doesn’t like their father.’ I mean, that’s not a great feeling, but it’s also kind of funny.”
“I don’t know if they understand that he’s not like a movie villain...you know, in a way he is. He’s like a cartoon character,” Kimmel added of Jane and Billy’s comprehension of Trump, with whom Kimmel has a longtime feud.
“It’s not like they... they never had a normal president. For them, it’s like, oh yeah, this is what happens with the president.”
Kimmel also noted that Jane became emotional because she thinks she’s inheriting Jimmy Kimmel Live and believed the suspension meant her show was going away.
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“For whatever reason she’s decided, even though she’s one of my four children, that she is taking over the show. It was never a conversation even. It was just like, yeah, I will of course run the family business,” he said.
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In September 2025, after Kirk, a conservative podcaster, was killed during an event hosted by his organization Turning Point USA, Kimmel addressed his death during his opening monologue.
“We had 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 with everything they can to score political points from it,” he said at the time.
Following Kimmel’s comment, FCC chairman Brendan Carr encouraged local broadcasters to pull the show from air and called for Disney, ABC’s parent company, to intervene. Days later, however, ABC reinstated the show amid a nationwide conversation about the freedom of speech, while local TV station owners Nexstar and Sinclair continued to suspend the show for a brief period.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., in May 2025; Jimmy Kimmel at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills in May 2025Credit: John McDonnell/Getty; Tommaso Boddi/Getty
When Kimmel’s show returned to air, he addressed the comments he made about Kirk. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed sending love to his family and asking for compassion and I meant it. I still do,” he said at the time.
“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual,” Kimmel said. “That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make. But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset.”
The late-night host also called out Trump’s reaction. “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke,” he said at the time.
Watch Kimmel and McNearney in the full Armchair Expert episode below.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
