On September 17, Jimmy Kimmel’s 23-year-running show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was suspended. The suspension was un-American and had little to do with the comedian himself or what he said about the shooting of Charlie Kirk, but rather revealed the unprecedented infringement of free speech that was guided by President Trump.
Kimmel’s suspension faced heavy backlash from singers, actors, comedians, and more. No matter their differences in political opinion, they united for one reason: the importance of free speech and the validity of First Amendment rights.
Kimmel was removed from the air for commenting on “the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize’ Kirk’s shooter “as anything other than one of them.” He also poked fun at the President, which seemed to spark controversy within the ABC network.
Kimmel played clips during his show of Trump, who, when asked how he was holding up with the loss of his friend, Kirk, said, “I think very good,” and then proceeded to talk about the construction of a new $200 million ballroom. It is my opinion that Kimmel made Trump look unintelligent, which was one of the reasons for the suspension of his show.
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, spoke on a podcast and brought up Kimmel’s comments soon after Kimmel’s September 17 show aired. He said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Carr’s gangster-like remarks were a clear threat to pull ABC’s broadcast license.
After the suspension, Hollywood showed outrage, viewing it as unconstitutional and un-American. 400 well-known celebrities signed a letter backing Kimmel, written by the American Civil Liberties Union, including iconic figures like Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert DeNiro, and hundreds of others. Late-night show hosts united in advocating for the return of Kimmel’s show and pointing out the constitutional violations. After six days of unity against ABC for surrendering to Trump’s attack on the First Amendment, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” came back on air on September 23rd, but was not broadcast on all stations.
On Kimmel’s return episode, he played a clip of Trump discussing his suspension. Trump said Kimmel has “no talent.. [is] a whack job… [and] had no ratings.” Kimmel paused, and then with a smile on his face, said, “Well, I do tonight.” The monologue has broken records, gathering over 26 million views on YouTube.
Kimmel’s return was greeted with multiple lengthy standing ovations. His performance was admirably honest and vulnerable. He called the President and his cabinet authoritarian, called attention to the fact that Trump is censoring journalists and called out Trump multiple times directly for his anti-American actions.
Kimmel thanked other late-night hosts for their public support and kind words. He thanked Ted Cruz, a far-right politician with whom he has little to no common beliefs, but who spoke out for Kimmel’s right to freedom of speech anyway.
Addressing his comments regarding Kirk’s shooter that were supposedly the reason he was taken off air, Kimmel, in tears, said, “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” sharing his compassion for Kirk’s wife and children.
Kimmel addressed Erika Kirk’s forgiveness of the man who shot her husband as an admirable example that should be the takeaway from the recent news controversy regarding his show and Kirk’s death.
Kimmel shared his gratitude towards Disney for defending his right to speech by allowing him to be on their network, shared his discontent with Sinclair, owner of ABC, for not broadcasting the show in several regions, and ultimately said, “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”
Harvard government professor, expert on the breakdown of democracy and author of “How Democracies Die,
” Steve Levitsky came into his lecture the day after Kimmel’s show was suspended and told his class he did not know how to emphasize it enough – this is a textbook sign of authoritarianism. He told the domestic students in his class that this is the time to speak out; this is a critical moment for the future of democracy.
I agree. Seeing this blatant attack on free speech is, quite frankly, terrifying, and requires action by the American people to protect our democracy.
