‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Staffer Says There’s Been No Communication About Show Status from ABC (Exclusive)

One Jimmy Kimmel Live! staffer is opening up about the late-night show being in limbo.

“We don’t know anything,” the unidentified employee tells PEOPLE exclusively on Friday, Sept. 19, just two days after ABC made the decision to “indefinitely” pull Jimmy Kimmel‘s show off the air after the host’s recent remarks about the late right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk. “We’re all on standby.”

“Jimmy and the producers have had to keep this close to the vest,” the staffer continues, adding that “there’s been nothing” by way of communication from the network since ABC placed the show on hiatus. “We’re just hoping that we’re gonna hear something soon and hopefully it’s good.”

“I’m not ready to admit that it’s over,” they note.

The Live! staff member reveals that ABC’s decision came “shortly before showtime” on Sept. 17, after they had spent hours preparing for the taping.

“It was very quick and very shocking. It was a big shock to everybody,” the say, explaining that following the announcement there was a meeting for the staff.

ABC’s decision to “indefinitely” shelve Jimmy Kimmel Live! came after pressure from broadcast companies Nexstar and Sinclair both condemning Kimmel over his comments about Kirk — who was shot and killed at the age of 31 on Wednesday, Sept. 10, while speaking at a university event in Utah — and pulling his show from ABC affiliates across the country.

Kimmel’s comments that have come under fire pertained to Kirk and his accused killer, Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with aggravated murder in connection with Kirk’s death.

“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,” he said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

Kimmel then showed clips of President Donald Trump being asked about Kirk’s death, with one reporter offering him their condolences and asking how he’s holding up, only for the president to say “I think very good” before changing the subject to the construction of the new ballroom at the White House.

As the camera cut back to Kimmel, he said, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction.”

In the wake of Kirk’s murder, Kimmel offered condolences to Kirk’s family on social media, writing, “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has praised both Nexstar, the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the U.S., and Sinclair, which makes up the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, for their decision to pull Kimmel’s show in posts he shared to X.

Nexstar recently announced plans to acquire Tenga, a rival broadcast company, for more than $6 billion, a massive deal that would further consolidate the local television landscape and put Nexstar in 80% of America’s TV-owning households — despite current law permitting no more than 39% — according to a press release. The acquisition will require final approval from the Trump-controlled FCC, which Carr runs.

Additionally, Sinclair has laid out a list of demands for Kimmel to meet before airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! again, including him issuing “a direct apology to the Kirk family” and making a “meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” Kirk’s nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses.

Trump, who has been at war with late-night hosts in recent months, has celebrated Kimmel being taken off the air and said he was “fired for lack of talent.”

While Kimmel has yet to address him being taken off the air, he has received support from Hollywood pals, industry unions and his fellow late-night hosts, including Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, whose late-night show was canceled earlier this summer at CBS.

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While the Jimmy Kimmel Live! employee admits the situation is “way out of our hands,” the staff is standing strong together because “the Kimmel crew is a family.” They also note that everyone behind the scenes is optimistic for a positive outcome to this unprecedented situation.

The employee is hoping “that there’s some sort of peaceful resolution in our future that’s gonna figure this out,” they note. “Unfortunately, we have nothing of substance to give us anything, so we’re literally just going off of our gut and our hope.”