You’ve probably seen the headlines or a stray tweet from a few months back about a "Charlie Kirk tribute" on ABC. Maybe you even stayed up late, remote in hand, waiting for a primetime special that never flickered across your screen.
Honestly, the whole situation was a mess of misinformation and corporate panic.
If you’re looking for the high-definition, star-studded ABC Charlie Kirk tribute, I have to be the one to tell you: it doesn't exist. At least, not in the way the internet led people to believe. While there was a massive movement to get a tribute on the air, and Sinclair Broadcast Group even tried to force the issue, ABC never actually produced or aired a dedicated memorial for the Turning Point USA founder.
What Really Happened on September 10?
To understand why everyone was searching for a tribute, we have to look at the tragic events of September 2025. Charlie Kirk was at Utah Valley University for an outdoor debate—part of his "American Comeback Tour." It was supposed to be another standard campus event, but it turned into a nightmare when Kirk was fatally shot while speaking.
The suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was eventually captured, but the political fallout was instantaneous. This wasn't just another news story; it was a "political assassination" that sent shockwaves through the country.
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The Jimmy Kimmel Connection
This is where the ABC drama really kicked off. Shortly after the shooting, Jimmy Kimmel—ABC’s late-night heavy hitter—made some comments during his monologue that many found incredibly insensitive. He essentially suggested the shooter had MAGA ties, which contradicted later reports from prosecutors.
People were furious.
The backlash was so intense that Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns a massive chunk of ABC’s local affiliates, decided they’d had enough. They announced they were pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air indefinitely. In its place, they promised to air a Charlie Kirk tribute special during Kimmel's usual 11:35 PM ET time slot.
The Tribute That Vanished
Friday night rolled around. Thousands of viewers tuned in to their local ABC stations expecting a memorial. Then, just six minutes before the show was supposed to start, Sinclair pulled a total 180.
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Instead of a tribute to Charlie Kirk, viewers saw a rerun of Celebrity Family Feud.
Sinclair tweeted out that the "special" would instead be hosted on their National News Desk YouTube channel. They claimed they would "continue to air ABC network programming as scheduled" to maintain their relationship with the network. Basically, the corporate lawyers likely got involved, or the logistics of airing a non-network special over national airwaves became a nightmare.
So, while there was a tribute produced by Sinclair and aired on YouTube, there was never a formal "ABC Charlie Kirk tribute" sanctioned by the network itself. In fact, ABC’s primary coverage remained strictly within their news division, such as David Muir’s reporting on World News Tonight.
Breaking Down the Misconceptions
There are a few things people get wrong about this whole saga:
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- ABC didn't "cancel" the tribute: They never planned one. The idea was a rogue move by Sinclair (an affiliate owner), not the ABC network executives in New York or Burbank.
- The Fox News Special was real: If you remember seeing a tribute, you might be thinking of Charlie Kirk: An American Original. That was a Fox News primetime special hosted by Jesse Watters. It’s easy to get the networks mixed up in the middle of a media firestorm.
- The "Indefinite Suspension" of Kimmel: This was a massive story. For a while, it looked like Kimmel was done. ABC did eventually bring him back, but the tension between the network and its conservative-leaning affiliates like Sinclair hasn't exactly gone away.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
We’re still talking about this because it represents a massive shift in how media works. We saw an FCC Chairman (Brendan Carr) openly threatening broadcast licenses over late-night jokes. We saw local affiliates trying to hijack a national network's schedule to air political memorials.
It was a pivot point for "free speech on campus" and "media accountability" that we’re still feeling today. Even now, in 2026, the court cases regarding Kirk’s shooter, Tyler Robinson, are still making their way through the Utah legal system, keeping the name Charlie Kirk in the daily news cycle.
If you’re still searching for that specific "ABC" video, you’re likely going to find a lot of "Family Feud" clips or Sinclair’s YouTube upload. It’s a classic case of the internet memory being slightly more dramatic than the broadcast reality.
Next Steps for Staying Informed:
- Check the Source: If you see a "tribute" clip on social media, look for the logo in the corner. If it's the Sinclair/National News Desk logo, that's the one that replaced Kimmel online.
- Follow the Trial: The preliminary hearing for the Charlie Kirk assassination case is scheduled for May 18, 2026. This will likely bring a new wave of media specials and retrospectives.
- Verify Media Ownership: Understanding that companies like Sinclair and Nexstar own the stations but not the network (ABC) helps explain why your local news might feel very different from the national broadcast.