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‘CENSORING YOU IN REAL TIME’: SUSPENSION OF JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW
SPARKS SHOCK AND FEARS FOR FREE SPEECH  
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Jonathan Yerushalmy
September 17, 2025
The Guardian
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_ ABC decision over Kimmel comments about Charlie Kirk’s killing
comes hours after Trump-appointed chair of US media regulator
threatened broadcaster’s license _

, Wikipedia

 

Politicians, media figures and free speech organisations expressed
anger and alarm at the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show,
warning that critics of Donald Trump
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systematically silenced.

ABC announced it was suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely
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comments Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk’s killing led a group of
ABC-affiliated stations to say it would not air the show.

On Wednesday evening, California governor Gavin Newsom called the
firing of commentators and cancelling of shows “coordinated” and
“dangerous.” He went on to say that the Republican party “does
not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”

Democratic senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said “everybody
across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s
happening to Jimmy Kimmel
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colleague Chris Murphy said it was likely the start of a campaign to
“use the murder of Charlie Kirk as a pretext to use the power of the
White House to wipe out Trump’s critics and his political
opponents”, while Democratic politician Ro Khanna said “this is
perhaps the first administration to make comedy illegal”.

Actor Ben Stiller said the decision to suspend Kimmel’s show
“isn’t right”, while comedian and occasional Daily Show host
Michael Kosta wrote: “This is a serious moment in American history.
TV networks MUST push back. This is complete BS.”

Comedian and actress Wanda Sykes said in a video that Trump
“didn’t end the Ukraine War or solve Gaza within his first week,
but he did end freedom of speech within his first year. Hey, for those
of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.”

Sharing recent footage of Fox commentator Brian Kilmeade calling for
mentally ill and homeless people to be killed, comedian Paul
Scheer wrote
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“So let me get this straight. Kimmel is off the air for his comments
about the politicization of an assassination but this is totally
fine.” Kilmeade later apologised
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his “extremely callous” remarks.

Comedian Mike Birbiglia wrote
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and you don’t call out the insanity of pulling Kimmel off the air
– don’t bother spouting off about free speech anymore.”

MSNBC political commentator Chris Hayes called it the most
“straightforward attack on free speech from state actors I’ve ever
seen in my life”.

In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel said that “we hit some new lows
over the weekend with the Maga gang desperately trying to
characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk
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anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score
political points from it.”

On Tuesday he said Trump was “fanning the flames
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by attacking people on the left.

ABC, which has aired Kimmel’s late-night show since 2003, moved
swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the
show, saying Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death “were
offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political
discourse”.

Donald Trump and figures aligned to his Maga movement reacted with
glee to the news, with the president calling it “Great News for
America”. Trump posted: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having
the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent.”

The president, who is on a state visit to the UK
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hours earlier had attended a banquet hosted by King Charles, also
appeared to encourage the NBC network to cancel other late night shows
hosted by Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers.

Earlier on Wednesday, the chair of the US media regulator, Brendan
Carr, appeared on a rightwing podcast and threatened broadcasters’
licenses if action was not taken against the late night host.

In the interview with Benny Johnson, Carr suggested suspending Kimmel
could be an appropriate action from ABC.

After ABC’s announcement hours later, Johnson boasted online that it
was his interview with Carr that had led to Kimmel’s suspension.
“It’s called soft power,” he said. “The Left uses it all the
time. Thanks to President Trump, the Right has learned how to wield
power as well.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said the timing of
ABC’s decision, after the comments from Carr, “tells the whole
story”.

“Another media outlet withered under government pressure,” the
free speech advocacy group said, adding “we cannot be a country
where late night talk show hosts serve at the pleasure of the
president. But until institutions grow a backbone and learn to resist
government pressure, that is the country we are.”

Truth Wins Out (TWO), a nonprofit dedicated to exposing extremism,
said the move was part of a rightwing “Cancel Crusade” that has
“weaponised outrage to silence dissent and intimidate media
outlets.”

“This is a new McCarthyism that has expanded the boundaries of
‘woke’ to once unimaginable dimensions. It is chilling the free
press and punishing truth‑tellers.”

TWO’s statement references the wave of firings that have followed
Kirk’s death, with companies sacking employees for making comments
that are deemed to be insensitive or divisive.

There have been reports of teachers, firefighters, journalists
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nurses, politicians, a Secret Service employee
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a junior strategist at Nasdaq
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a worker for a prominent NFL team
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being sacked or censured in some form after publishing opinions on
Kirk’s politics or death.

Efforts to track down, intimidate and harass people perceived not to
have sufficiently mourned the killing of the Kirk were endorsed on
Monday by JD Vance
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The US vice-president guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast and said that
people who “see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder” should
“call their employer. We don’t believe in political violence, but
we do believe in civility, and there is no civility in the celebration
of political assassination.”

Kimmel, like CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, had consistently
been critical of Trump and many of his policies on his show and his
suspension comes just weeks after rival network CBS said that it
was cancelling Stephen Colbert’s
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at the end of this season for financial reasons, although some critics
have wondered if his stance on Trump played a role.

_Jonathan Yerushalmy is Guardian Australia's UK/US site editor_

* Jimmy Kimmel
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* Firing
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* Free Speech
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