On Sept. 17, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was suspended by ABC. The suspension occurred after Kimmel made a joke on air about the reactions of Trump and his supporters to podcaster Charlie Kirk’s death. Kimmel poked fun at Trump’ s constant redirection of press questions about Kirk to statements about White House renovations, and at attempts by Trump supporters to gain political capital because of Kirk’s death. However, some interpreted this segment of the show as being disrespectful about the death itself.
After pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)- a government institution that operates regarding communications- to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show due to this segment, ABC issued an indefinite suspension of the show.
However, this suspension lasted only five days, until Sept. 22, due to significant public pushback. Due to the interference of the FCC in this matter, many citizens feared the integrity of the First Amendment in this case. As there was federal interference in the suspension of this show due to statements that the government did not agree with or support, as opposed to a suspension decision made solely by a private media network, first amendment rights were called into question. The decision sparked mass public outrage, culminating in Kimmel’s return to the network on Sept. 23.
Kimmel returned with an apology and assurance that his intention was not to make light of a death. This was followed by an extended monologue which suggested Kimmel’s perspective of the role of the first amendment in this circumstance.
Kimmel said, u The statement and monologue generally iterated the importance of media not being regulated by the government on a wide scale.
Despite the end of Kimmel’s suspension, as a result of the controversy, according to PBS, some stations, including Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, have refused to play Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the future.
Despite the brevity of the suspension, it had resounding effects on the public’s belief in the security of the First Amendment, leaving many questioning the future of freedom of speech in America.
