ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! has triggered a political and cultural storm. It isn’t just about one comedian’s remarks—it’s about regulatory pressure, political leverage, and what happens when broadcast media bends under power.
What triggered this
On Monday, Jimmy Kimmel made remarks in his monologue about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He suggested that the accused shooter might be aligned with MAGA and implied conservatives were trying to dodge that characterisation. Prosecutors and family statements, however, indicate the shooter had recently moved toward more left-leaning views, particularly on LGBTQ issues.FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seized on this, calling Kimmel’s comments misleading and warning that ABC could face regulatory consequences if it didn’t act. Within hours, two of ABC’s largest affiliate groups — Nexstar and Sinclair — announced they would stop airing the show. By evening, ABC itself pulled Kimmel “indefinitely.”
Free speech & legal standards
Kimmel’s words may have been factually shaky. But inaccurate commentary is not the same as incitement. Under the Brandenburg test, the Supreme Court standard for limiting speech, two conditions must be met for punishment: the speech must be intended to incite imminent lawless action, and it must be likely to do so.Kimmel’s remarks did neither. They were political satire — pointed, partisan, and perhaps sloppy, but not a call to violence. Labeling them as “hate speech” stretches the law beyond recognition.
ABC’s history of yielding to pressure
This is not the first time ABC has backed down under political or legal heat. In the past, it has settled lawsuits brought by Trump rather than risk protracted court fights — including a multimillion-dollar payout last year. It restricted anchor George Stephanopoulos from moderating a Republican debate after Trump allies threatened legal action over his critical coverage. It also suspended senior correspondent Terry Moran after he described Trump and adviser Stephen Miller as “world-class haters” on social media. Even earlier, during the Roseanne saga, Disney executives admitted that political optics in the Trump era weighed heavily on the decision to axe the show. Each of these episodes signalled that ABC’s leadership was willing to prioritise avoiding conflict over protecting its talent’s independence.
How other networks have caved
The Kimmel suspension comes weeks after CBS cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Officially, the decision was financial. But media insiders noted the timing — Paramount, CBS’s parent company, had a merger before the FCC that required smooth sailing. Colbert, like Kimmel, was one of Trump’s most vocal late-night critics.Across the board, major networks have adjusted coverage, settled suits, or shifted programming in ways that critics say reflect a strategy of appeasing the administration to secure regulatory approvals or avoid further scrutiny.
The big picture
- Regulatory leverage: The FCC issues broadcast licences. That gives the administration a pressure point: networks that rely on those licences know their survival depends on staying in the regulator’s good graces.
- Corporate calculation: Companies like Disney or Paramount act pre-emptively to head off political trouble, sidelining content that could provoke retaliation.
- Chilling effect: Satirists and commentators now know that even jokes, if targeted at the president or his allies, can cost them their platform.
Bottom line
Jimmy Kimmel is not a journalist; he’s a comedian. His job is to poke fun, exaggerate, and lampoon the powerful. What he said may have been flawed in fact, but it was not hate speech, nor was it incitement. By pulling him off air, ABC has shown how easily even the biggest media companies can bend to political pressure. And that sets a troubling precedent: in today’s America, whether you get to joke about power increasingly depends on whether power finds the joke acceptable.
