UPDATE: After this story was published, ABC announced that it would suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show “indefinitely” in the face of pressure from station ownership group Nexstar.
Original story continues below.
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission threatened to “take action” against Disney, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday, after a segment on the late-night host’s show about the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
On Monday, Kimmel accused MAGA of attempting to “score political points” by painting the suspect in the Utah shooting as a radical leftist. He claimed that the evidence pointed toward the gunman being a supporter of President Donald Trump.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said.
Appearing on right-wing commentator Benny Johnson’s talk show, FCC Chair Brendan Carr accused Kimmel of “the sickest conduct possible” and threatened to revoke broadcast licenses from ABC affiliates.
“What people don’t understand is that the broadcasters … have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with an obligation to operate in the public interest,” he said. “When we see stuff like this… Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Carr said that Kimmel took part in “a very concerted effort to lie to the American people” about Robinson’s political views, and said the FCC “has remedies” for Kimmel.
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“I think you could certainly see a path forward for a suspension over this,” Carr said.
Carr’s threats come in the midst of conservative outrage over the reaction to Kirk’s killing. The Trump administration has called for people making light of Kirk’s death to face consequences, including being fired from their jobs. Conservative organizations and influencers have spent the days since Kirk’s death collecting evidence of people celebrating Kirk’s death.
“When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out. And hell, call their employer,” Vice President JD Vance said on Monday.
Watch the interview below via YouTube:
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