Molly McNearney, the wife of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, revealed that their children were horrified upon learning that their father’s ABC show was suspended and immediately asked if President Donald Trump had a hand in it.
McNearney revealed on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast that she and Jimmy Kimmel immediately told their daughter and son, age 11 and 8 respectively, that his show was suspended.
Though the two “put on a mask” for the children upon their return from school, they eventually sat them down to break the news.
“Meanwhile, our phones are [going] buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz the whole time in our pockets, and there’s helicopters over our house,” she said.
Kimmel then told the children that his “show has been suspended,” which allegedly made his daughter cry.
“Our daughter immediately burst into tears. And she said, ‘I’ll sell my Labubus,’” McNearney said.
When their son asked if “the president had done this,” both McNearney and Kimmel allegedly told him “Yes.”
“Jimmy and I both believed that night that the show was never coming back,” McNearney said.
In the same interview, McNearney said that her she her relationships with Trump-supporting relatives have strained under the new administration.
“I’ve sent many emails to my family, like right before the election, saying, ‘I’m begging you. Here’s the 10 reasons not to vote for this guy. Please don’t.’ And I either got ignored by 90% of them or got truly insane response from a few,” she said on the podcast.
“It hurts me so much because of the personal relationships I now have, where my husband is out there fighting this man, and to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family. And I unfortunately have kind of lost relationships with people in my family because of it,” she added.
In September, Disney suspended Jimmy Kimmel after he suggested the assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk may be affiliated with MAGA despite evidence indicating he was influenced by left-wing ideologies. The suspension was spurred, in part, by broadcast affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair refusing to air the show in their respective markets.
Nexstar said Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” adding it would like to “move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
Kimmel returned after a brief suspension, saying his comments were misconstrued.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” Kimmel continued in his monologue. “I posted a message on Instagram the day he was killed, sending love to his family, and asking for compassion, and I meant it. I still do.”
