Sinclair Broadcast Group quietly pulled the plug on airing a special tribute to assassinated conservative icon Charlie Kirk on its ABC affiliate stations.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was gunned down by an assassin on September 10 during a speaking event at Utah Valley University.
Instead of broadcasting the remembrance program as initially planned, the media giant directed viewers to watch it online via a YouTube link, while continuing with regular ABC late-night programming.
The decision comes after ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was hit with an indefinite suspension for making false accusations about the man arrested for assassinating Kirk, namely, that Robinson was a Republican.
“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,” Kimmel sneered.
The backlash was swift and severe. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly slammed Kimmel, and media companies like Nexstar, another major owner of ABC affiliates, announced they would preempt his show entirely in response to the tasteless remarks.
The outrage was so severe that Disney caved and indefinitely suspended Kimmel from his failing show.
Sinclair, which owns hundreds of local TV stations across the country, initially seemed poised to take a stand. The company demanded a full apology from Kimmel and echoed Carr’s sentiments, stating that ABC’s suspension “did not go far enough.” Instead, they had promoted the Kirk special as a way to honor the fallen activist on Friday night during Kimmel’s timeslot.
But in a sudden reversal, Sinclair released a statement saying, “Tonight, Sinclair will continue to air ABC network programming as scheduled in the late-night time period. The Charlie Kirk special will instead be available on The National News Desk’s YouTube channel, ensuring viewers can continue to enjoy ABC programming while also providing full access to the special online.”
The tribute, titled simply as a “Charlie Kirk special,” is now tucked away on YouTube and has garnered fewer than 10,000 views in its first 24 hours.
The accused assassin, Tyler Robinson, 22, is a leftist who was living with his transgender boyfriend at the time of the politically motivated attack.
Watch the special here: