Stephen A. Smith Criticizes Jimmy Kimmel’s Charlie Kirk Joke After Talk Show Suspension

Stephen A. Smith had smoke for Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday’s (Sept. 18) episode of his SiriusXM show Straight Shooter. The ESPN commentator weighed in on Kimmel’s recent remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, and he wasn’t impressed.

“The only thing that I would say as it pertains to Jimmy Kimmel is, where was the joke?” Smith said with a straight face. “Because you’re a late night host, and obviously that has a comedic attachment to it. Where was the joke? Obviously, it wasn’t anything funny about that.”

Kimmel, who usually mixes political jabs into his monologues, addressed Kirk’s Sept. 10 killing during Monday’s (Sept. 15) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The activist was fatally shot while speaking with students at Utah Valley University. Authorities later arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in connection to the shooting.

On air, Kimmel suggested that Trump supporters were trying to twist the tragedy for political gain. “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,” he said.

In consequence, ABC announced Wednesday (Sept. 17) that it would indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! following the backlash, and Nexstar confirmed it would be pulling the show from its ABC affiliates. Kimmel himself has yet to publicly comment on his suspension.

Smith, who actually guest-hosted Kimmel’s show in 2021, took a stern approach reminding media figures that words can carry weight. “In the times we’re living in, you have to be very, very careful about what you say when you open your mouth,” he warned. “And you can’t associate a political group of people with a murderer.”

He also called out former President Donald Trump, who celebrated Kimmel’s suspension on Truth Social. “That goes for both sides,” Smith stressed. “President Trump shouldn’t be coming out of his mouth talking about how … ‘this was instigated and stirred on by the Left.’”

Take a look below at Straight Shooter, where Stephen A. Smith goes off about Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks.