Stephen A. Smith claims Jimmy Kimmel's "one-sided" jabs towards Donald Trump administration caused his ABC suspension

ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel for his controversial comments on political activist Charlie Kirk's assassination last week. Stephen A. Smith slammed Kimmel for his jokes after his suspension.

Smith fired shots at Kimmel after he stirred controversy with his comments. The ESPN analyst didn't find the late-night comedian's segment funny, saying:

"Where was the joke? Because you're a late-night host — and obviously that has a comedic attachment to it. Where was the joke? Obviously, it wasn't anything funny about that."

After ABC reinstated Kimmel on national broadcast on Tuesday, Smith claimed his "one-sided" jabs at Donald Trump and his administration was the reason behind his suspension.

"The issue with Kimmel wasn't the jokes or the non-jokes that he was articulating and what he said," Smith said (Timestamp - 8:45 onwards). It's the fact that it's repeatedly been one-sided.

"Back in the days of a Johnny Carson, a Jay Leno or David Letterman, or an Arsenio Hall, nobody was safe, both sides were undressed. Both sides were ridiculed and parodied and it was universally understood."

Smith reminded him that he had warned that Donald Trump would come for people criticizing him when he was not in power, and Kimmel was one of his biggest critics.

Stephen A. Smith not bothered by losing friends over Jimmy Kimmel controversy

After Stephen A. Smith roasted Kimmel on his suspension, the ESPN analyst faced backlash from fellow analysts over his remarks. While Smith acknowledged he lost friends because of the controversy, he doesn't care about it.

"I’ve lost a few friends," Smith said. "There were some people that I thought were friends who had love for me, but I found out that was not the case. It can be a very very lonely existence when you decide to stand on certain principles.

“And I’m here to tell you something. As sad as that would make most people, I personally, Stephen A. Smith could give less of a damn. Not even a little bit."

While Smith has previously hinted at running for the 2028 election, he shrugged off the notion when Bill Maher brought it up on his "Straight Shooter with Stephen A." on SiriusXM.