The ladies of The View were surprisingly silent about ABC pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air due to the host's comments about the killing of controversial pundit Charlie Kirk. There was no discussion about Jimmy Kimmel's suspension or the subsequent Hollywood outcry in the two View episodes that aired after ABC confirmed to Us Weekly that "Jimmy Kimmel Live! [would] be pre-empted indefinitely" on Wednesday, September 17. The episode that aired Friday, September 19, was pretaped earlier in the week, thereby explaining why the topic likely wasn't addressed. Us Weekly has exclusively learned that The View was not given any directive by ABC to avoid discussing the topic on air. The View hosts opened up the show on Thursday, September 18, by celebrating cohost Sara Haines' 48th birthday, before pivoting to other "Hot Topics," such as FBI Director Kash Patel's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee the previous day. The View capped off the week in the pretaped Friday episode with a lively discussion about former Vice President Kamala Harris' forthcoming memoir and an interview with actress Lily James. SAG-AFTRA and WGA Condemn ABC Over Jimmy Kimmel Live! Suspension Joy Behar made one brief reference to the tense political landscape while introducing comedian Andy Huggins on Friday, when she admitted she'd "never needed a laugh more than these last few months." Us has reached out to ABC for comment. The View panelists found themselves in an unquestionably awkward position when Kimmel was benched, since their daytime show also airs on Disney-owned ABC. Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, cheered on Kimmel being taken off the air and suggested that The View could face repercussions next because of its criticism of President Donald Trump. "When you look at these other TV shows, what's interesting is the FCC does have a rule called the equal opportunity rule," Carr, 46, said on The Scott Jennings Radio Show on Thursday. "But there's an exception to that rule called the 'bona fide news exception,' which means if you are a bona fide news program, you don't have to abide by the equal opportunity rule." Carr then claimed, "Over the years, the FCC has developed a body of case law on that and has suggested that most of these late night shows, other than SNL, are 'bona fide news programs.' And potentially I would assume you can make the argument that The View is a bona fide news show, but I'm not so sure about that, and I think it's worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether The View and some of the programs that you have still qualify as bona fide news programs and therefore exempt from the equal opportunity regime that Congress has put in place." Jimmy Kimmel in 2016. Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images This latest controversy started over a section of Kimmel's late night monologue on Monday, September 15, where he referenced right-wing reactions to 22-year-old Tyler Robinson being apprehended for allegedly shooting conservative political commentator Kirk during a forum at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10. Robinson has yet to enter a plea after being charged with a capital offense, aggravated murder, as well as felony discharge of a firearm, in addition to lesser counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. The suspected shooter will remain in custody at Utah County Jail without bail at least until a waiver hearing on Monday, September 29. While referencing Robinson's arrest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, Kimmel told viewers: "The MAGA gang [is] 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. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving." Two of the nation's largest TV operators, Nexstar Media and Sinclair Broadcast Group, refused to continue airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the wake of those comments, with ABC eventually confirming on Wednesday that the late night comedy show was being taken off air "indefinitely." Revisiting How Jimmy Kimmel Initially Reacted to Charlie Kirk's Death ABC's decision to bench Kimmel has been widely condemned by the host's late night contemporaries and even drew boycott threats against Disney by several Hollywood stars. Kimmel has yet to comment publicly about his suspension, though legendary late night host David Letterman confirmed he'd been in touch with the embattled comedian. "I have heard from Jimmy. He was nice enough to text me this morning," Letterman, 78, told a live audience at the Atlantic Festival in New York City on Thursday. "He's sitting up in bed taking nourishment. He's going to be fine." Lettermen later warned, "In the world of somebody who's an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship, sooner or later everyone is going to be touched. But this is me, for 30 years, I did this for a living. I fee