The flagship late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on U.S. broadcaster ABC will be back on the air on the 23rd (local time), six days after the broadcast was halted. Under pressure from the Donald Trump administration, ABC and parent company Disney had decided on an "indefinite suspension," but they eventually raised the white flag amid a strong outcry over "a violation of free speech."
Disney issued a statement on the 22nd saying it would resume the show. Disney explained, "Last week we decided to pause production to avoid further inflaming tensions during a moment of national emotion," adding, "because we felt some remarks were ill-timed and insensitive." It continued, "We had deep conversations with Jimmy over the past few days and decided to bring the show back on Tuesday." Kimmel himself has not yet made a public statement on the matter.
On the 15th, host Jimmy Kimmel satirized the Republican response to the shooting death of political activist Charlie Kirk in his show's opening monologue. He said some Republicans were "desperately trying to label the kid who killed Charlie Kirk as something other than the 'MAGA (Make America Great Again) crowd,'" and that they were using the incident "to score political points."
Two days after those remarks, on the 17th, Brendan Carr, a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) appointed by President Trump, personally warned that a broadcaster's license "could be revoked." Appearing on a conservative podcast, he took issue with Kimmel's comments and said, "We can resolve this the easy way or the hard way."
The threat had an immediate effect. ABC and its largest affiliate groups Nexstar and Sinclair announced that evening they would place Kimmel's show on "indefinite hold." Nexstar was awaiting FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger-and-acquisition deal.
But when a marquee show succumbed to government pressure, not only public opinion but all of Hollywood erupted. More than 400 Hollywood stars issued a joint statement through the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) saying they "cannot tolerate the government's threat to free speech." A host of famous actors, including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Jennifer Aniston, signed on. Fellow comedian John Oliver, on his HBO show, aimed at Disney Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bob Iger, saying, "History will remember the cowards who caved to bullying."
Criticism also emerged across the political spectrum. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz criticized Chairperson Carr's actions as "dangerous as hell," and other Republican senators, including Rand Paul and Todd Young, also voiced displeasure. Conservative outlets the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and National Review likewise criticized the government's censorship.