The Josh Innes Show - Goodbye Jimmy Kimmel?

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

Jimmy Kimmel is off the air due to some comments he made about Charlie Kirk's murderer. I think I know the real reason he's getting bounced.... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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But my boss at one point goes, holy shit. I'm like, what? He goes, Jimmy Kimmel just got fired. Now he didn't get fired. He was just off the air indefinitely. But they pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air. And it's over these comments that he made about, whether or not the shooter of Charlie Kirk was actually MAGA.

And the details out there seemingly tell a story that he is not MAGA. But ABC has pulled him over those comments because the FCC chairman has spoken about it. And there's a whole deal about it. Basically, the details on this are this. This is after the FCC chair, Brendan Carr, criticized the host comments about Charlie Kirk. During Monday's show, Kimmel suggested that Tyler Robinson, the suspected shooter, might have been a pro-Trump Republican and said MAGA supporters were trying to avoid calling Robinson one of them. However, text messages released Tuesday showed Robinson actually targeted Kirk because, quote, he had enough of his hatred, possibly contradicting Kimmel's theory. FCC chair called Kimmel's remarks the sickest conduct possible and threatened to revoke ABC's affiliate license as punishment.

Following Carr's comments, Next Star Media Group announced its 200-plus ABC affiliates would preempt the show. The lone Democrat on the FCC panel criticized Carr for using government power to suppress free speech. Carr thanked Next Star for, quote, doing the right thing and said broadcasters should push back on Disney programming that doesn't meet community values. Okay, let's play a couple commercials here, and let's get into this. So I don't like Jimmy Kimmel, and I used to love Jimmy Kimmel, but I don't like him anymore because he's become part of this cult of people that have TDS, as it were, and they don't really care about the overall audience. They're just, they care about pushing whatever narrative they have. They're not concerned with being funny. They've turned their talk shows at night into, like, CNN Light, MSNBC Light.

They're not interesting. They're not funny. I don't like them. I don't like Gutfeld. I don't like any of these people who are on doing nighttime TV. It's just, I'm not into it. But I just, I don't like Kimmel. Like, Kimmel's the one that lets me down the most.

Like, I never like Colbert. Like, Colbert's done some things that I've enjoyed. Like, he was on, I think he was a cast member, but also a producer of a show called Strangers with Candy that nobody will remember. But it was Amy Sedaris, and it was the After Hours After School special. and it's about Jerry Blank, and I was a boozer, a user, and a loser. If any of you remember strangers with candy, me and my buddy were obsessed with this show when it came out, I think in the late 90s, early 2000s, and fantastic show, and he was

one of the teachers in this high school on this show, and it was fantastic, okay? But I never really got into the Daily Show, and I never really got into the Colbert report, but I understood the appeal of it and the satire, and it's funny. whatever. Colbert, once he became the host of the late show, I never liked him, never found him funny, tried, didn't hate him when he came, but like, I just, I can't get into it. The look of him, I didn't think he was funny. I just never liked him. But Kimmel, I always enjoyed, because there was an affability, if that's the right word, that he possessed that I liked. He was on the man show. I've always liked Adam Carolla. The times I've met Adam.

I'm Carolla. He's been super nice. I was telling my boss, actually, that the time that I met him, this is 2009, 2010, right? And at the time, Corolla, I think, had just gotten whacked by CBS. He was doing morning shows. And I don't think he was doing morning shows anymore. Like, they'd flip the format, I think, on the station. That's what it was. So he was on a station in L.A. that was still doing Hot Talk, I think, at the time. And Hot Talk was, you know, this format that existed in, like, the Stern era where it wasn't sports talk. It wasn't news talk. It was just like guy talk basically about talk about whatever the fuck you want. It was hot talk. And he was on 971. I believe he was on in L.A. Or 98. I forgot what it was.

I think it was. I think it was. I might be wrong on that. But I forgot the frequency. It doesn't really matter. But he's there. He's the morning guy. And eventually they dumped the whole station and put top 40 on and he gets whacked, right?

I think they made it like Amp Radio or something like that. So he's up at our radio station, which is owned by CBS at the time in Houston, 610, and he comes up and he might be promoting a comedy show or something. And he just starts ripping program directors and it's funny shit. And I'm like, I like this guy. And I've just always liked Carolla because I feel like he and I share similar sensibilities, right? Like, it's funny. I was talking to one of my bosses yesterday. And we were talking about one of the local guys here that I think is good and had been around a lot.

long time. And he goes, you know, but the thing about him is, I don't even know his politics. And I said, I can kind of guess his politics. He goes, well, it's not like you where it's obvious where you stand. I'm like, is it obvious where I stand? Like, I think you think I'm some sort of right-wing zealot, but if anybody ever listens to me actually speak, I am far from a right-wing zealot. I just, it just so happens that the people I hate the most are the cancel culture weirdo Trump derangement syndrome people but as I told him I think I dislike them more because I'm just more disappointed in who they are because they're allegedly the educated people the smart people yet they act like total fucking imbeciles like I don't have high expectations for some

guy who's a farmer in Des Moines Iowa like no offense to that person but like I expect that person to be a good common sense driven guy good person but I don't expect huge things out of a farmer in Iowa. I expect huge things and open-mindedness and shit like that from people who are allegedly the most educated and affluent. So when I hear these people being total fucking

wackos who are destroyed by this Trump, I'm like, I'm more disappointed in you and you annoy me. So I'm not like, I think people hear me. Like there was a guy who's in programming with I heart that I've known for a long time. And when I was up for the job in

Nashville, I think he spoke with them. about me. I never worked for him, but I know him. And he tells him, Josh Ennis is a right-wing lunatic. I'm like, okay. I'm the, boy, what a right-wing lunatic I am. I'm like, abortion.

Who gives a shit? But hey, I'm a right-wing lunatic. Hey, don't cancel porn. Boy, what a right-wing lunatic we got here. Like, go down the list of things that are not right-wing lunatic shit. And it's like, he's a right-wing lunatic. But whatever, that's neither here nor there.

But I really enjoyed Adam Carolla, and I still do. Like, I don't like seek out his pod or anything like that. But when I see clips of it, I like them. And I like Adam Carolla. I like his vibe. And Kimmel had that vibe at one point. Every man type of vibe. Relatibility.

The man show. Girls jumping on trampolines. Blackface doing Carl Malone, which he's been forgiven for, apparently. So all that. And then at some point, Kimmel lost some weight. gruesome stubble, and then just started crying about left-wing political shit, like literally crying on television. And I'm like, this isn't a fucking comedy show. You guys have decided that comedy isn't the answer here. You're going to do whatever this political shit is.

And I just don't find you funny anymore. I used to think you were great. I just don't. And it's not because you and I disagree politically. It's because you and I disagree with what the idea of those shows are supposed to be. Those shows are not supposed to be a place where you get on TV and cry about political shit, literally shed tears over political shit. The show is there to lampoon everyone. It's the same reason why I stopped watching South Park this year. The thing that South Park had going forth that was so fucking good is you felt that there were no sacred cows.

Then all of a sudden it was like, eh, they didn't do anything about Biden. Okay, fine. He's the easiest target on the planet. Nothing about Biden. That's fine. I'll watch this next season anyway. And then it's just like 100% anti-Rour. right-wing people. And again, I'm not a right-wing

person, but I like people that are going to say, hey, fuck you, I'm going to go after everybody. And South Park used to be that way, and now they are not, and I just didn't find the content to be all that funny. So I stopped watching it this year. And it's not like I'm protesting, like, take them off the air, take them off. I'm saying that I just don't give

a shit. Like, it doesn't interest me, and that's all. I would never say, fire them or take them off the air, but whatever. And that's kind of where I am on things like that about those type of shows. I used I don't view late-night comedy shows as the place where you're bringing on tons of political people to break down politics.

Be funny. These shows are not highly rated anymore, and they are not big revenue generators anymore. And it's because they've done this. They've ruined themselves. They've eaten themselves with these things. And I don't feel bad for people like Jimmy Kimmel. Guy makes $16 million a year. The audiences are not large.

The only time they get any attention is when they've done. talk about Trump. That is reality. It's like Howard Stern. Howard Stern can do a million different things and no one gives a shit. Talks about Trump. It's in the New York Post, right? Like, that's just what they have. That is their peace to resist homes. Like, that is their biggest thing is, hey, if we mentioned Trump, we might make news, right? So here's what I think. Anyway, first of all, obviously, part of this is concerning and not even concerning, but it's weird because you've got a guy who's just speculating on TV. Why he's on TV speculating about the political party of the guy that shot, this isn't the fucking view. This is a comedy

show. So I don't even understand or know the context of what we're hearing here or what we're reading here. But like why on Monday night on a comedy talk show is the topic of conversation, whether or not the guy that shot Charlie Kirk was MAGA and then you're basically throwing a dig at these MAGA people and it's like, why? What is the point? What are you accomplishing doing this shit? Now you can argue he's just feeding his fan base because obviously the people that still like Jimmy Kimmel

are probably Trump derangement syndrome ridden wackos, right? It's very possible. But why is this the topic of conversation? But if all this guy did was speculate about the political party of the guy who shot Trump, why is that an issue? Well, the FCC guy had an issue with it, but you know who appoints the FCC chairman? Trump. So, like, maybe that's part of why the guy was pissed.

But on the other hand, if this were a regular occurrence, I'd say this is a problem. So I'm trying to look at this from the perspective of, like, people speculate about Trump and shit like that. all the time. CNN does it. The View does it. Rachel Maddow does it. And a lot of people go on television and say shit that ends up being wrong. People say a lot of wrong shit. What is it about this particular thing that really upset the FCC chairman and probably upset Trump? You know, what was it about this particular thing? Because this isn't the first time that someone on television has been like, oh, Maga people were responsible for this, only to find out that it wasn't. And right-wing people. Dude, the first thing right-wing media people do when there's a shooting is like,

hey guys, he's trans. He's a black trans person. I know he is. Like, it's the first thing they do. The first time there's a shooting, you'll get CNN speculating that some guy is white when it turns out he's black. Like, that's what these people do. They go on television and speculate. So what was the difference about this? But the FCC chairman's allowed to be pissed off and threatened to like revoke licenses and shit. ABC doesn't have to stop. I don't think he broke any FCC laws. He didn't go on the air and say, fuck shit, cut pussy, eat my ass. He didn't do any of that.

So ABC didn't have to do anything. And they could have stood with their guy and been like, yeah, we stand with this guy. But why didn't they? And I think I have an idea. And then again, he's not fired. He's just suspended her off the air indefinitely. Here's my speculation. I think they're tired of paying Kimmel $16 million a year.

to generate what equates to just mediocre ratings, and really the ratings he does get are, not because he's funny, but because they're doing a little political talk show. Like, at least Fallon tries to still do a comedy show and be a likable guy. Kimmel, Colbert, they gave up on likability a long time ago. They have been suckled into the dark underbelly of the elitist left-wing people. Like, that's who their audience is and that's all they care about. They only care about rich left-wing people, like Stern and all these people. It's all they care about.

so why is this comment the one that makes his company just say you know we're taking you off the air my speculation is this despite the fact that Kimmel claims that these shows don't lose a lot of money and maybe they don't lose a ton of money and maybe they are what are called lost leaders and they go into it knowing these shows are now going to lose money and they just that's written into budgets like hey we know that this show loses 10 million dollars a year but it's good to have whatever. My guess is that ABC has been looking for a way to get out of this deal because I am of the belief, and I don't know this for a fact, but I am of the belief that these late night shows are money losers. And they may not be as big of a loser as like 40 million like

the speculation was about Colbert or whatever. But these shows are expensive to run. Because not only do you have to pay Jimmy Kimmelah reported $16 million a year, you have to pay all of his producers. You have to pay all of the cameramen. You have to pay all of the writers. I don't know what the full budget is for a show like this, but it's probably well in, and just talking about for talent and for like the paying people to work is into the 20 million range. So there's a lot of money you have to recoup for these shows to make money. A lot of cost involved. I'm going to guess, because I've experienced this before and seen it, people look for ways to get out of big contracts that they you as albatrosses or there's giant weights. Here's my speculation. I think the numbers

aren't very good. He costs them way too much money. They want to get out of a deal. And there's something in that deal that says, like, there's a clause or something that, you know, if you put us at risk with the FCC or something like that, you can be terminated with cause, thus we don't have to buy you out or whatever. There's got to be something in that deal. Because why is this one the one that ABC's like, whoa, we got to pump the brakes? You want to tell me that David Ware on World News Tonight doesn't speculate? That's all these fucking people do.

They go on TV. They lie. They spread mistruths. So why this one? This one obviously drew the ire of the FCC chairman. Cool. Why is ABC bending the knee so quickly? to these guys and I think it's because they're trying to get out of whatever deal they have

with Kimmel and this was their out. They found an out. I guarantee you those muckety mucks that are sitting around. They're like, what can we put on that's like 99% cheaper? I guarantee you this, the affiliates across the country, and I think this is how it works, and I'm not sure, but I think affiliates can choose whatever kind of like syndicated programming they want to put on TV in late night. They very well could put on two episodes of the Big Bang Theory and pay a whole lot less and just wash their hands of it and be gone. Instead of one hour of Kimmel, here's two hours of Mike and Molly. Actually, that's CBS, but you get my point.

Whatever, a cheers. Here's locally, we put on two Cheers episodes instead of Kimmel and probably get better numbers and pay exponentially less money. That would be my guess. As they're finding a way to get out of this deal, they probably have a long-term deal with them. If they fire them, they have to buy them out, and it's still going to cost them money. They cost money to operate this show that doesn't really make money. It may not be otherworldly profitable. It might make a couple of bucks, but it's not really worth the time.

These shows are not in the zeitgeist anymore. These are not shows that people are talking about the next day. There's no like, oh my God, did you hear what was on Kimmel last night? No one gives a shit. So that would be my guess. And I've seen that because it happens in radio all the time. You get these big deals with people, and people get whacked, and you're like, why the hell they get whacked over that? And you're like, I bet this guy had a contract and no numbers, and they wanted to get out of this deal. And you see it all the time. But anyway, the whole story is weird, because out of all the weird shit people do to speculate on TV and on radio and everything else, why is this one the one that kind of breaks the camel's back?

And my guess would be that. Now, is it irresponsible to get on TV and say that I think someone's mad? Well, yeah, but everything on TV is irresponsible. Watch the view. It is just one giant. It is a group of yentas being irresponsible. Like the shit that these people say is baffling. The shit they say on Fox is baffling.

All TV is is speculation. So why is this one an issue? And I think with ABC, it's because they're trying to get out of Kimmel's deal and not have to pay them and they probably just want to bring an end to late night. Remember, ABC is new to the late night game. I want to say that it wasn't. World News Tonight, but there used to be a news show that would come on at that time, I think. And now, like, they were laid into the late-night talk game. I mean, Kimmel's only been on since 2003, and I think they tried to lure Jay Leno at one point whenever the thing was happening

with Conan and stuff like that. But I think that there's something about them just wanting to get rid of Kimmel, and I don't blame him because he's not funny anymore. He doesn't have a big audience of people, and nobody cares. These guys are not relevant to the Zyke guys. These guys are not relevant to the zeitgeist. This is not Letterman at his apex, where like Letterman was a trendsetter, Letterman was like must watch, Letterman was fun, whatever. That's not this. These people are out of sight, out of mind. All right, more to come.