Last week, we reported that ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely over vile comments that he made about the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Now, insiders are claiming that the former Friends star Jennifer Aniston, who is close friends with Kimmel, feels that she’s “being silenced” in the wake of his suspension.
Aniston’s Silence On Kimmel’s Suspension
Aniston, 56, is reportedly such good friends with Kimmel, 57, that she regularly invites him to her annual Thanksgiving gatherings. That’s why it’s come as a surprise that while much of Hollywood has spoken out to condemn Kimmel’s suspension, Aniston has stayed silent.
An insider close to Aniston told Daily Mail that the The Morning Show star is “100 percent in his corner.” However, Aniston’s team has advised her that it’s best to stay silent about Kimmel for now.
“Jen and Jimmy have been very close friends for years,” the source explained. “She desperately wants to come out in support of him being pulled off the air over his comments because she’s one hundred percent in his corner.”
“However, her reps are advising her this is one time she should stay out of the conversation,” the insider continued. “Her representatives are strongly advising her to restrain herself about Kimmel publicly for fear of the backlash.”
Though Aniston has been following her team’s advice, doing so has been a “very hard decision” for her. This is because Aniston is “not a person who holds back” and often ‘speaks her mind.”
Kimmel’s Comments On Kirk Assassin
On Jimmy Kimmel Live! last Monday night, host Kimmel falsely suggested that Kirk’s assassin was “MAGA.” In reality, the shooter was a radicalized young man who held far-left ideologies, according to investigators.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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,” Kimmel said on Monday night.
The backlash against Kimmel was swift. Last Wednesday, Kimmel was shocked to learn that he had been suspended indefinitely. He got this news mere hours before he was set to go on the air for his nightly program.
Friends of Kimmel’s have since told Daily Mail that the 57 year-old comedian is “angry but unbowed.” He reportedly firmly believes that Disney, which is ABC’s parent company, caved to political pressure. These friends also alleged that Kimmel’s suspension came after he told Disney executives that he had no intention of issuing an apology for what he said about Kirk’s shooter.
Kimmel ‘Feels Betrayed’
A source close to Kimmel also confirmed that he “feels betrayed” by the suspension.
“Jimmy has always pushed boundaries, that’s what his audience expects,” the insider stated. “The idea that one comment could sideline him after everything he’s given ABC — he’s gutted, but he’s not sorry.”
As for Kimmel’s team, they are still in shock over the suspension. Many of them were even on the phone with publicists booking celebrity guests for future shows when news of the suspension came in.
“We are all shell-shocked,” one celebrity publicist told CNN. “Jimmy’s show is part of the fabric of ABC. Nobody saw this coming.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Kimmel will be able to get his show back. For now, Aniston might want to continue to follow the advice of her team when it comes to speaking out about Kimmel’s suspension.
Only time will tell how this all turns out for both Aniston and Kimmel!