Jimmy Kimmel’s Cousin Sal Says There Are More ‘Bombshells’ to Come After Show Suspension: ‘I Know Too Much’

Jimmy Kimmel’s cousin, Sal Iacono — better known as Cousin Sal — has hinted that more “bombshells” may be coming after Disney’s ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

On Monday, Sept. 22, Iacono joined The Bill Simmons Podcast to talk about the NFL season. During the show, Simmons mentioned that an “interesting week” was ahead. Iacono agreed and said he couldn’t share much but suggested there was more to come after the network’s decision to pull Kimmel’s late-night program following his Sept. 15 comments about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

“I wish I could say anything,” Iacono said. “There are a couple bombshells still there. I’m feeling good. We’re going to be alright. Everything’s going to be just fine.”

Simmons added that he wasn’t “betting against our cousin” and joked that Kimmel could become a “pop-up chef,” before saying again that “he’ll be fine.”

Iacono, Kimmel’s real-life cousin, has worked with him for years, first on The Man Show and now as a writer and performer on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He admitted on the podcast that he knows too much to say anything more, adding, “It’s very emotional.”

ABC suspended Kimmel’s show last week after his remarks about Kirk, a conservative personality who was shot and killed at a Utah Valley University campus event. During his Sept. 15 monologue, Kimmel criticized reactions to the killing, calling out attempts to spin the suspect, Tyler Robinson, for political purposes.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

He also noted the White House lowered flags to half-staff, saying President Donald Trump was clearly affected, before playing a clip of Trump being asked about Kirk but instead speaking about “construction of the new ballroom for the White House.” Kimmel joked, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief, construction.”

Nexstar Media’s broadcasting division president, Andrew Alford, called Kimmel’s remarks “offensive and insensitive.” Nexstar, the country’s largest local broadcast and digital media company, recently announced plans to acquire rival broadcaster Tegna for $6.2 billion, which would expand its reach to 80% of U.S. households. The deal still needs approval from the Trump-led FCC.

Brendan Carr, chair of the FCC, praised the suspension, saying it was “important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.” Sinclair, which owns the largest group of ABC affiliates, said after discussions with ABC that it would “indefinitely preempt” Jimmy Kimmel Live! starting Sept. 17.

Sinclair also listed conditions for Kimmel’s possible return. Meanwhile, President Trump claimed Kimmel was taken off the air “because he had bad ratings more than anything else and he said a horrible thing about a great man named Charlie Kirk.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released an open letter Monday defending free speech and standing with Kimmel. Hundreds of entertainment figures signed the letter, including Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks, Selena Gomez, Pedro Pascal, Diego Luna, Martin Short, Maya Rudolph, Mark Ruffalo, Kerry Washington, and Meryl Streep.

“Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country,” the letter reads. “We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power – because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.”

The letter concluded: “This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.”