Television writer-producer Molly McNearney, the wife of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, opened up on the Nov. 6 episode of the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast about how she and Kimmel told their children that his show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” had been suspended.
McNearney, co-head writer and the executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” said their 11-year-old daughter burst into tears upon hearing that the show had been suspended, while their 8-year-old son asked whether President Donald Trump was to blame.
In mid-September, Disney briefly suspended ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the host’s remarks about the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk sparked widespread backlash. After an about-face from Disney, the liberal comedian returned the following week.
Jimmy Kimmel and wife Molly McNearney on the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast Nov. 6, 2025. (Screenshot/”We Can Do Hard Things”)
Kimmel’s wife said the couple initially “put on a mask” for their children after they returned home from school but decided to tell them about the show’s suspension before they found out themselves.
“Jimmy let them know. He said, ‘Our show has … my show has been suspended.’ And our daughter immediately burst into tears.”
After describing their daughter’s reaction to the news, McNearney said their son asked if the president played a role in “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” being taken off the air.
“Our son asked if the president had done this, and we looked at each other, and we didn’t quite know how to answer that question,” she recalled, with Kimmel interjecting, “I think I said yes.”
McNearney concurred, adding, “We did. We actually both said yes at the exact same time. We said ‘Yes, he did.’”
Molly McNearney on the set of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” May 8, 2025. (Randy Holmes/Disney)
Later on in the show, McNearney revealed that she has lost relationships with some of her Trump-voting relatives over her husband’s disagreements with the president.
“It hurts me so much because of the personal relationship I now have, where my husband is out there fighting this man, and to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family. And I unfortunately have kind of lost relationships with people in my family because of it,” McNearney said.
She continued, saying that, for her, politics are no longer about “Republican versus Democrat,” but about “family values.”
“And it’s really hard for me because I grew up believing in these Christian ideals of taking care of the sick and taking care of the poor, and I don’t see that happening with this Republican Party. And so it’s — I feel like I’m kind of in constant conflict, and I’m angry all the time, which isn’t healthy at all,” McNearney said..
“But I, like, personalize everything now. When I see these terrible stories every day, I’m immediately mad at certain aunts, uncles, cousins who put [Trump] in power.”
President Donald Trump speaks to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
The producer added that these feelings have been “really hard” for her to deal with and that she wishes she could “deprogram” herself to make it easier. She also revealed that before the 2024 election, she reached out to some of her conservative family members in a last-ditch effort to convince them not to vote for Trump.
When previously asked for comment by Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded, “Only someone suffering from TDS would be arrogant enough to claim that a vote for lower taxes, security and a strong economy is a vote against them personally. Millions of hardworking Americans voted for President Trump. No one cares what out-of-touch Jimmy Kimmel and his wife think about it.”
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