ABC is reportedly preparing to end its long-running late-night relationship with Jimmy Kimmel, according to a Page Six report that the network swiftly rejected as false.
The celebrity gossip outlet, citing an unnamed insider, said the current season of Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be the comedian's last, with his contract not being renewed beyond 2027. Kimmel has anchored the show since 2003, making him one of the longest-tenured hosts in late-night television.
“His contract is not getting extended,” the source told Page Six, noting that Kimmel typically signs one-year deals with Disney-owned ABC.
An ABC Entertainment spokesperson pushed back, telling The Hill: “This information is inaccurate — any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”
The report surfaces amid ongoing tensions between Kimmel and President Trump, with the two trading barbs throughout Trump's second term. In March, Trump publicly called for ABC to fire Kimmel after the host joked during a parody State of the Union that first lady Melania Trump had the “glow” of an “expectant widow.” Kimmel later clarified the quip was aimed at Trump's age, not a call for violence.
Disney also temporarily pulled Kimmel off the air last fall after he mocked Trump's response to the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, comparing the president's mourning to that of a “goldfish.” The move followed Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group—the parent company of The Hill—pulling the show from their ABC affiliates.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had threatened action against ABC around that time, and the FCC has since launched an early review of the network's broadcast licenses. ABC's lawyers have accused the commission in court filings of attempting to censor the network, a fight that continues as the late-night landscape shifts.
The potential end of Kimmel's run would mirror the recent departure of Stephen Colbert from CBS's The Late Show, which concluded in May after an 11-year tenure marked by clashes with Trump and growing uncertainty over the economics of late-night television.
As the political and regulatory pressure on ABC intensifies, Kimmel's future remains a subject of speculation—though the network insists the show will go on, at least for now.
