Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is never far from controversy. On Thursday, he found himself in the middle of one again after expanding on his viral tweet about Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show being yanked off the air.
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Disney indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! following backlash to the comedian's comments about Tyler Robinson, the college student accused of shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel had described Robinson as part of the "MAGA gang," sparking outrage among viewers and affiliates. Two of ABC's largest station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, moved to block the program, forcing the network's hand.
Kimmel, according to reports, is "absolutely f-king livid." Portnoy? He sees the situation differently.
"To me, this is not cancel culture at all," Portnoy said in a four-minute video posted to his social channels. "Cancel culture is when people go out of their way to dig through 20 years of stuff to find dirt on someone they don't like. This, what happened to Kimmel, is consequences for actions in real time."
Portnoy argued that Kimmel's remarks crossed a line for affiliates and advertisers, who in turn pressured ABC.
"If the juice isn't worth the squeeze, decisions have to be made," he said. "His ratings are down, he's making a ton of money, he's creating headaches for ABC. He's not a journalist. This isn't freedom of speech. This isn't cancel culture."
Here is the only take that matter on the Kimmel suspension. Mine of course… pic.twitter.com/VtnJUMuH9S
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 18, 2025
Portnoy summed it up bluntly: when you work for someone else, and what you say creates headaches for your boss, your job could be on the line.
The fallout comes just weeks after CBS cut ties with Stephen Colbert in what it framed as a cost-cutting measure. For late-night TV, the hits keep coming.
