Walden and Eisner made the call to cave

Jimmy Kimmel found out during a phone call on Wednesday afternoon that his 22-year late-night show on ABC is currently on hold, at least for now.

According to Deadline, the person on the other end of the phone was Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden.

“Both sides were very businesslike and polite,” one source said.

Walden and Iger decided to “preempt” Jimmy Kimmel Live! “indefinitely” in order to mitigate controversy following remarks made by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, in which he described Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer as “some of the sickest conduct possible.”

Kimmel made it clear he was unwilling to apologize for his remarks, according to insiders, and was going to direct the focus on President Trump’s most fervent supporters, who have been in an uproar since Monday night when Kimmel said the “MAGA gang desperately [is] 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.”

We understand he was planning to address some of these supporters while clarifying his comments.

However, it remains unclear which specific remarks were deemed inflammatory; sources indicate that the phrase “one of them” has been taken out of context.

Disney was concerned that if he had chosen to double down on his remarks, the company might have been compelled to make a more significant decision regarding the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live, rather than just proceeding with the announced preemption, sources noted.

The company hopes to have Kimmel back on the air “soon,” according to sources, but it is also uncertain whether Kimmel himself is willing to return. (ABC informed its stations on Wednesday that Jimmy Kimmel Live would be off the air through Thursday of this week, with programming replaced by Celebrity Family Feud, and further guidance to follow.)

There will undoubtedly be more updates, especially when Kimmel releases a statement. However, Wednesday was not a day that Disney executives enjoyed. “It was a heavy day for everybody,” one insider said.