Jimmy Kimmel and an example of free speech in America
The cancellation, and return of, Jimmy Kimmel’s late night now sparked conversations about American’s right to free speech all over the country.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The United States Constitution’s first amendment reads that “congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.” So when late night show host Jimmy Kimmel had his show pulled off the air indefinitely for a joke he made about the assassination of late political influencer, Charlie Kirk, Americans, both Republicans and Democrats alike were outraged. Everyday citizens and notable politicians cried that this move was an abuse of power and an infringement on the right to free speech.
On Sept. 17, 2025 in a post on Truth Social, President Trump praised the suspension of Kimmel’s late night show, calling it “great news for America.” The suspension came after Kimmel’s joke about the death of Charlie Kirk, that the “MAGA gang” tried to “characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, [trying] to score political points from it.” The late night show host continued to make jokes, not only about the assasination, but at President Trump’s expense as well. Kimmel poked fun at the president’s response to reporters asking him how he was handling the death of his friend, Kirk, to which Trump replied that he was doing “very good,” and almost immediately began discussing plans for the construction of a new ballroom in the White House. Kimmel joked that the president was in “the fourth stage of grief: construction.”
Disney, the parent company to ABC, that usually airs Kimmel’s late night comedy show, said that it suspended Kimmel’s show due to “ill-timed and thus insensitive” remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk. However, this decision did not come without criticism.
Former vice president, Kamala Harris, who campaigned against now-president Trump in the last presidential election, called the suspension an “assault on free speech”; former President Barack Obama joined in on the criticism, saying, “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.” Even notable politicians in President Trump’s own party chimed in to criticize his praising of the suspension of Kimmel’s show. Conservative United States senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, warned that “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.”
It is important to note that President Trump did not make the decision to suspend Kimmel’s show himself; he only praised the decision, which was officially made by ABC. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its chair, Brenden Carr, also seemed to influence, or at least support, the station taking this action.
The FCC is an independent government agency which regulates media such as television and radio, and what content airs on these stations. Networks, such as ABC, do not need an FCC license to air programs nationally on television or radio, although local, smaller stations are FCC licensed. Many of these local stations and companies, Nexstar for example, do have permission to air programs from television networks like ABC. Nexstar had been airing the Jimmy Kimmel late night show, and despite ABC’s and Disney’s recent decision to air the late night show again, Nexstar has not resumed airing the program. Regarding ABC’s decision to suspend the comedy show, Brenden Carr said on a podcast, “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel. Or, you know, there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
According to Reuters news, “Federal law prohibits the FCC from revoking a broadcaster's license for negative coverage or other speech the government dislikes.” However, Carr did state that he may need to “investigate” Kimmel’s commentary on Kirk and President Trump, with President Trump adding that he believes ABC could face consequences for constantly airing negative content about him. Only a few days before Kimmel’s show was pulled from the air, the Trump Administration said they would push consequences for those who spoke badly of Kirk after his death and that they would move to criminalize hate speech.
Hate speech is usually defined as, according to the New York Times, “racial, ethnic and religious epithets; calls for racial or religious intolerance; and false statements about racial or religious groups.” The United States Supreme Court has stated that the First Amendment’s free speech clause does include hate speech, meaning that the government cannot lawfully punish or push consequences on those who spread it. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once stated that the First Amendment protects even “the thought that we hate.” Therefore, the government cannot legally fire or punish anyone for what they have said, including statements deemed to be hate speech. The regulations for private employers are different however; they give employers the freedom to enforce their own punishments and regulations.
Many Americans, as previously mentioned, saw ABC’s and Disney’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show as an overreach of power by the companies, the FCC, and President Trump himself. While notable politicians spoke out, everyday Americans made their voices heard as well. Choosing to exercise their right to peacefully “assemble”, citizens filled Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California with signs again letting the government know that they felt the suspension of the late night show was an infringement on free speech.
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, Kimmel’s show returned to broadcasting as ABC and Disney reinstated the show, presumably due to the pressure the companies faced from Americans. Disney said that Kimmel’s show received over 6 million views on Tuesday, nearly tripling Kimmel’s usual viewership numbers. This great reception was even before the Nexstar company, and another media company called Sinclair, decided to also allow their ABC affiliate stations to re-air Kimmel’s show. This past Friday, the two corporations announced that after “thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders,” they would again allow the ABC affiliate stations which they owned to air Kimmel’s show. Sinclair further stated that their “objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience.”
Tearfully, Kimmel addressed his viewers during his first show back on air, regarding his monologue about Charlie Kirk and President Trump that resulted in the show getting suspended. Through tears, the host said “It was never my intention to make light of the muder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.” After clearing his throat, Kimmel continued to clarify that he has people in his family that he disagrees with politically, but remains close to, and that this assassination was committed by “a sick person who believed violence was the solution,” when it is not, that this act of violence was not committed by the “kind of people that [he] know[s] and loves.” Finally, seemingly addressing the outcries of Americans regarding the suspension of his show as an infringement on Americans’ rights to free speech, Kimmel said “This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”