New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks on stage for the March on Wall Street, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Monday announced he is pulling out of a town hall held by a local ABC station following the national network's decision to suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

Mamdani said he canceled his appearance at the upcoming town hall after ABC pulled Kimmel's show off the air due to backlash over the host's comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

"I am withdrawing not as an indictment of the local affiliate or the hardworking journalists, but rather in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press,“ Mamdani said in a statement.

Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, said he had been scheduled to attend a town hall this week organized by WABC-TV, a local affiliate of ABC, but would now not go to the event. The 33-year-old candidate is facing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the city’s November election.

Later Monday, ABC said it was lifting Kimmel's suspension and that he would return to his show on Tuesday, releasing a statement that said the network had “spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.”

Mamdani's campaign did not immediately return a request for comment after the announcement about Kimmel's reinstatement.

ABC had suspended Kimmel last week after broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair said they wouldn't air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr threatened repercussions if Kimmel was not punished. Republican President Donald Trump, who has called Kirk a “great American hero,” has applauded the move.

On his show, Kimmel had made various comments about the reaction to Kirk's killing, including that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.” Kimmel has not made a public statement following his suspension.

Kimmel's suspension has prompted debate about free speech and government censorship. More than 430 people in the entertainment business added their names to an open letter Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union that calls the move “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”

In his statement, Mamdani said the suspension sends “a message that the First Amendment is no longer a right that can be counted on, but rather that it is the government which will determine what should and should not be discussed, what can and cannot be spoken.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2025