Jimmy Kimmel taken off the air following Charlie Kirk comments

Walt Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday it was pulling "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off the air, after comments by the late-night show's host about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk prompted a threat by the head of the top U.S. communications regulator against Disney, Reuters reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated the news in a social media post.

A number of Democratic lawmakers assailed the decision, saying free speech was under attack, according to Reuters.

Kimmel drew fire for remarks he made about the killing in his monologue on Monday.

"We hit 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 doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said.

Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative student movement Turning Point USA and a key Trump ally, was speaking at an event in Utah attended by 3,000 people when he was gunned down.

Kimmel's comments led to a response from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who urged local broadcasters to stop airing "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC. Carr suggested the commission could open an investigation and that broadcasters could potentially be fined or lose their licenses if there was a pattern of distorted comment.

"This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said in a podcast interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson that aired Wednesday, according to Reuters.

After Carr spoke, Nexstar Media Group said it would stop airing the show on its 32 ABC affiliates, citing Kimmel's comments. Nexstar, which needs FCC approval for its $6.2 billion deal to acquire smaller rival Tegna drew praise from Carr, who thanked Nexstar for "doing the right thing."

Shortly after Nexstar announced its decision, ABC, which holds FCC-approved licenses for the local broadcast affiliates that it owns, also said Kimmel would be pulled from the air, according to Reuters.

"‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will be preempted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesperson said, without elaborating.