This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Television show entertainer Jimmy Kimmel returned to some of the stations that used to carry his show Tuesday might but offered no apology, only an "explanation" for his false claim that MAGA members were trying to "score political points" over the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The co-founder of Turning Point USA was gunned down by a sniper during a free speech event at a Utah college. The suspect, Tyler Robinson, is known to have been radicalized by leftist ideologies in recent months. He was living with a roommate who was a male who claimed to be female, and the shooter had engraved radical slogans on the bullets he loaded into the rifle that was used.
Kimmel's jokes about the Kirk murder included his statement, "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."
He was suspended by ABC and other station ownership organizations, only to be allowed back on the air on Tuesday by ABC. The other ownership groups, Sinclair and Nexstar, still have him banned.
A report at Washington Examiner revealed that after Kimmel's return, Andrew Kolvet, who worked as a producer for Kirk, said Kimmel's refusal to offer an apology, just a claim that "it was never my intention to blame any specific group," failed.
"Not good enough," Kolvet wrote on social media.
He explained, "Jimmy, it's simple. Here's what you need to say: 'I'm sorry for saying the shooter was MAGA. He was not. He was of the left. I apologize to the Kirk family for lying. Please accept my sincere apology. I will do better. I was wrong.'"
Kimmel's claim that it was "important to me as a human" that people believed his claim that it never was intention "to make light of the murder of a young man," was met with loads of skepticism.
From online social media commenters: "It was precisely his intention to make light of it, which explains his recklessly inaccurate depiction of the killer's ideology and then cutting away to that edited South Lawn clip, which was designed EXCLUSIVELY for comedic effect. And no apology, inflaming it all further."
And, "He didn't just make light of the murder of a young man he and his staff mulled it over first. Someone said 'hey, let's make a joke about Trumps response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, while implying he was MAGA'. No one said it's too soon or disrespectful, they ran with it"
And, "Sounded to me like a lot of dancing around the subject. Half hearted, and weak at best. In the end, it doesn't really matter. 70 affiliates aren't airing his show, and his ratings will probably continue to tank. Good luck Jimmy. Maybe it's time to bring back the trampoline"
The Washington Examiner also cited other criticisms of Kimmel, whose show ratings have been plunging.
Piers Morgan said, of Kimmel's call for understanding of his lack of intent to "make light of the murder," "Yet that is exactly what he did."
Morgan added, "Hard to feel sympathy for Jimmy Kimmel and his crocodile tears given how gleefully he has always gorged on the career entrails of conservative stars who lost their jobs like Tucker, Roseanne etc. He's become a partisan political activist, not a comedic host."
Kimmel also, the Washington Examiner reported, brought in religion as his defense, citing a statement from Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, who publicly forgave her husband's accused killer, recalling the example of Jesus.
Kimmel claimed, "That is an example we should follow. If you believe in the teachings of Jesus as I do, there it was. That's it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches many, and if there's anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that and not this."
