Actor and comedian Wanda Sykes called out President Donald Trump after Trump saw an opening to get late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air and successfully pressured ABC to do so following comments Kimmel made about the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
Sykes' appearance on Kimmel's show was pulled at the last minute due to Kimmel's suspension and she proceeded to condemn Trump's move in a video message “in a full face of make-up” via Instagram.
She said:
“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, the Jimmy Kimmel show has been pulled indefinitely, abruptly, because of complaints from the Trump administration.”
“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. Hey, for those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.”
You can hear her remarks in the video below.
Many praised her for speaking out and criticized the Trump administration, ABC, and Disney, ABC's parent company.
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ABC's decision to suspend Kimmel's program came after Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), hinted his agency could take action against ABC over comments the host made during Monday’s broadcast.
Kimmel said, among other things, that "the MAGA gang [is] 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."
The Trump administration has pledged to crack down on leftists they blame for Kirk's assassination despite the well-reported fact that Kirk's killer was radicalized through the same avenues as other far-right men, having more in common with Kirk, despite the Trump administration's insistence otherwise.
