Even that relatively mild criticism drew the wrath of liberal Jimmy Kimmel—after he jokingly condemned the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. In response, Nexstar Communications Group has put his program on indefinite suspension. His remarks provoked fury on both sides of the political spectrum, including Senator Ed Markey, who decried what’s happening as “censorship at work.” This event is indicative of the escalating hostility towards free political speech in our country.
On his Tuesday night show, Kimmel quoted a cringe-inducing remark from JD Vance when he recently subbed for Kirk on the latter’s own podcast. He recently proposed that Tyler Robinson, the alleged murderer of Kirk, was connected to anti-LGBTQ pro-Trump Republican vibes. Kimmel’s remarks included assertions that “many in Maga-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
Nexstar Communications Group took immediate action following Kimmel’s remarks, labeling them “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.” Supporters of former President Donald Trump welcomed the decision to withdraw the program for good. They viewed it as an essential answer to what they considered odious critique.
Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chair of the U.S.’s media regulator, was pretty mad kimmel went there. He described them as part of a “concerted effort to try to lie to the American people” and accused Kimmel of attempting to “play into a narrative that this was somehow a Maga or Republican motivated person.” Carr sounded the alarm and said something should be done to oppose Kimmel. He stressed that not complying with these requirements would result in added burdens to the FCC and significant liability for broadcasters that air objectionable programming.
“It’s long past the time that a lot of these licenses broadcasters themselves … say ‘We’re not gonna run Kimmel anymore … because we licensed broadcasters are running the possibly of fines or licensed revocation from the FCC,’” – Brendan Carr
The political implications of Kimmel’s remarks reach far beyond his late-night program. Ed Markey, who illustrated the bigger picture and why it matters, noted how people have to deal with incentives to fit into myth-making narratives. He even threatened, “Embrace the MAGA agenda or the Federal Censorship Commission will target you next.”
Kimmel’s statements have incited a heat-packing firestorm of Readers’ Freedom of Speech vs. Media Accountability Debate. His critics, by contrast, have contended that his comments were dangerous and incendiary. At the same time, advocates argue that his goal was to draw attention to the myriad issues related to violence and political extremism.