Wanda Sykes on Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension Impact

Wanda Sykes shared her disappointed reaction to Jimmy Kimmel’s show being pulled off the air right before she was scheduled to go on his program.

The comedienne, 61, addressed the situation and showed her support for the late night talk show host after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! ‘indefinitely’ amid backlash for his divisive comments about the death of Charlie Kirk.

Sykes explained she was already en route to the studio for her appearance on Wednesday’s episode on Wednesday’s episode when the network announced they were axing the show.

In his monologue on Monday’s episode of this show just two days earlier, Kimmel had sparked controversy when he criticized Republicans and President Trump’s MAGA movement in the wake of the conservative political influencer’s assassination.

Following the shocking suspension, Sykes broke her silence after she had gotten ready but had to turn around and go back home. 

In addition to Sykes, podcaster Jay Shetty and celebrity chef Christian Petroni were also expected to appear on the show and were also on the way to Hollywood’s El Capitan Theater. 

She shared her support of Kimmel and called out Trump and his administration for how he ‘ended freedom of speech.’

The actress had changed into a T-shirt but was still in full glam in her video.

She began: ‘Hey everybody, I’m in a full face of makeup because I was supposed to go over and have a chat with my friend Jimmy Kimmel on his show.’

‘But as you have heard by now, Jimmy Kimmel’s show has been pulled indefinitely, abruptly, because of complaints from the Trump administration,’ she continued.

‘So let’s see, he didn’t end the Ukraine war, or solve Gaza within his first week, but he did end freedom of speech within his first year,’ she said.

While shaking her head, she added: ‘For those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.’

Sykes was among the many Hollywood stars who unleashed their fury on ABC as they rushed to defend Kimmel after his show was yanked off the air. 

And Kimmel himself is said to be ‘absolutely f***ing livid’ at the situation. Sources say he is already preparing for his next steps and is getting ready to take action.

Meanwhile, ABC stations are reportedly set to air a remembrance special looking back at the late conservative commentator’s life in replacement of what was Kimmel’s usual timeslot.

And following the news, Trump celebrated the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, hailing it as ‘great news for America.’

He even urged NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next. 

The controversy started when Kimmel had divisive statements about Kirk’s assassination in Utah last week and accused the ‘MAGA gang’ of trying to gain political points over his murder. 

Kimmel also insinuated that the suspected shooter was conservative after investigators stated 22-year-old Tyler Robinson has far-left ideologies and was in a romantic relationship with his transgender roommate. 

Kimmel said that Trump’s supporters were ‘desperately trying to characterize the kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.’

The talk show host also took a jab at Trump, sarcastically remarking ‘how hard the president is taking this’ before airing a clip of him deflecting and talking about the White House’s ballroom construction when a reporter offered their condolences for the loss of his ‘friend.’ 

In response to his comments, right before Kimmel was set to begin the live taping of Wednesday’s episode, a spokesman for ABC announced that the show was canceled ‘for the foreseeable future.’ 

The network’s affiliate group, Nexstar, also stated that it ‘strongly objects’ to Kimmel’s comments and ‘will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.’