EXCLUSIVE: JIMMY KIMMEL WILL LEAVE ABC WHEN HIS CONTRACT EXPIRES IN 2027
Hello, hello, hello…
ABC may be publicly standing by Jimmy Kimmel today — but behind the scenes, insiders say the network has already made peace with the inevitable: when Kimmel’s contract expires in May 2027, he’s gone.
Yes, ABC is defending Kimmel after his Melania Trump “expectant widow” joke sparked outrage and fresh calls for his firing. Yes, executives are insisting it’s “business as usual.” And yes, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is still taping as scheduled.
But make no mistake — this is not a vote of confidence. It’s a holding pattern.
“ABC is not firing Jimmy today,” one insider tells us. “They’re just not fighting to keep him tomorrow.”
That is the real story.
Publicly, ABC has no choice but to stand by its late-night host after another political firestorm. Privately, insiders say patience has run out. The Melania joke — delivered just days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting — was not seen internally as a one-off controversy, but as yet another costly reminder of how much cleanup Kimmel now requires.
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“Every time Jimmy does this, the network has to spend three days managing outrage,” one source says. “At some point, the question becomes: is he still worth it?”
Increasingly, the answer inside ABC is no.
Kimmel’s ratings remain soft. Affiliate frustration has not gone away. And Disney executives, insiders say, are weary of repeatedly defending a host who continues to generate more political noise than late-night upside.
“No one expects some dramatic firing,” another source says. “They expect a polite goodbye, a thank-you, and for everyone to move on.”
That is why ABC is standing by Jimmy Kimmel now.
Not because the network is committed to him long-term.
Because they only have to manage him a little longer.
Cheers
Rob Shuter
And remember… if you’re going to be naughty, you’ve got to be nice. 💋
Just trying to understand the joke.
Mr Kimmel can be credited for creating in the lexicon the phrase
“Glow of an expectant widow”.
I have heard the phrase the glow of an expectant mother when you compliment a woman in the family way who is going to give birth in the near or immediate future.
Mr Kimmel is explaining that his widow joke is based on the First Lady’s pending widowhood as if that’s something to make light of. I am speculating ABC has warned Mr Kimmel no more widow jokes. But then again can you really censor a comedian who will only have one more year on ABC.