Disney gave in to threats from FCC chairman and occasional speech regulator Brendan Carr this evening, announcing that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be pulled off the air “indefinitely.” Carr was unhappy that Kimmel characterized the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk as “anything other than” a member of the “MAGA gang” and threatened to pull broadcast licenses of stations airing his show as a result.
The clip of Kimmel’s monologue that got him pulled off the air is still available on YouTube. Watch it for yourself and see if it’s so objectionable as to warrant pulling the entire show, let alone entire broadcast networks that air it.
“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 near the top of his monologue. The remarks come just after the 2-minute mark in the clip on YouTube.
Carr has regularly used his position as FCC chairman to try to manipulate speech by broadcasters that rely on his agency. He previously implied that CBS’s cancellation of Steven Colbert’s late-night show helped get the company’s merger with Paramount approved. The companies had to agree to government speech regulations in order to seal the deal.
The Verge has reached out to the FCC to ask what specifically in Kimmel’s show is objectionable and which rules it is in violation of. The commission did not immediately provide comment.
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