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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday denied late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended because of pressure from the Trump administration, even after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s threat to pull ABC’s broadcast license.
“The decision to fire Jimmy Kimmel and to cancel his show came from executives at ABC,” Leavitt said on Fox News’ “Saturday in America.”
“It was a decision that was made by ABC because Jimmy Kimmel chose to knowingly lie to his audience on his program about the death of a highly respected man when our country is in a state of mourning,” Leavitt added. “That was a decision that he made, and he is now facing a consequence for that decision and for that lie.”
Kimmel was not fired by ABC.
His long-running show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was pulled off the air “indefinitely” on Wednesday following a remark by Kimmel that the alleged killer of Republican conservative activist Charlie Kirk is connected to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
“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 added.
Kimmel’s suspension comes after considerable pressure from FCC Chair Carr, who said Kimmel’s joke appeared to “mislead” the American public about the facts around the killing of the conservative activist and suggested pulling ABC’s broadcast license.
On Wednesday, the FCC commissioner told right-wing commentator Benny Johnson that Kimmel’s “truly sick” comments could form the basis of a “strong case” of action against ABC and Disney.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr told Johnson. “These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
“They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said.
On CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday, Carr said the FCC is “not done yet” with changes to the media landscape. Carr, who was appointed FCC chairman by Trump, assumed the role in January.
Trump himself has also suggested the federal government will revoke the licenses of broadcast television networks that are “against” him.
Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest local television broadcasting group, said its stations affiliated with ABC would preempt Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future” following the remarks. Sinclair Broadcast Group, another television station holder, also followed suit.
Kimmel’s fate at ABC is still up in the air as talks with Disney reportedly continue. The late-night host is in ongoing discussions with Disney and ABC executives about the conditions under which his long-running show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” could return to air, according to Variety, which cited people familiar with the matter.
There is no guarantee Kimmel and Disney will reach an agreement, the report said. ABC has been airing repeats of “Celebrity Family Feud” in Kimmel’s slot following the suspension.
Kirk was killed Sept. 10 while speaking at a college campus in Utah. His influence with younger conservatives helped Trump secure his presidency, which endeared the conservative activist to the president.
ABC and Disney have come under fire from all sides following the episode. Conservative commentators who’ve disparaged Kimmel’s comments called the suspension a result of “consequence culture,” while liberals have said Republicans were engaging in the “cancel culture” they purported to despise.
Many have taken to protesting the late-night host’s suspension. White House press secretary Leavitt’s comments to Fox were in part a rebuttal to former President Barack Obama’s post on “X.”
“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like,” Obama wrote.
On Friday, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner backed Kimmel, saying in a social media post on “X”: “Where has all the leadership gone?”
“Maybe the Constitution should have said, ‘Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest,'” Eisner wrote. “By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.”
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday called for the reinstatement of Kimmel, saying on social media platform “X”: “Disney/ABC have a responsibility to refuse to participate in corruption.”
Many actors, writers and creatives in Hollywood have criticized the suspension. On Thursday, hundreds in Burbank, California, took part in a protest organized by the Writers Guild of America and the group Burbank Against ICE, carrying signs with slogans such as “Defend Free Speech” and “ABC Bends the Knee to Fascism.”
Elsewhere, on Friday, a man was arrested after shots were fired at a lobby window at the ABC affiliate station in Sacramento, California, police said. A spokesperson said the motive remains under investigation.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was among the unlikeliest of Kimmel’s supporters, after likening FCC Chair Carr’s comments related to the late-night host to the Mafia. “He says, ‘We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way’ … that’s right out of Goodfellas,” Cruz said of Carr.
“Let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you the media have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives,” Cruz said.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger and Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
