ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely has provoked widespread anger from politicians, media figures, and free speech organisations, who warn that critics of Donald Trump are being systematically silenced. The move came after comments Kimmel made about the killing of Charlie Kirk led a group of ABC-affiliated stations, including Nexstar and Sinclair, to refuse to air the show.
FCC chair Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump, defended the suspension on Fox News, calling it an 'important turning point'. He accused late-night hosts of becoming 'court clerics enforcing a very narrow political ideology'. Sinclair indicated Kimmel could return if he issued a 'direct apology to the Kirk family' and made a 'meaningful personal donation' to the family and Turning Point USA.
Democratic FCC commissioner Anna Gomez criticised Carr, stating that 'an inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control'. She added that the administration is 'increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression'.
The Producers Guild of America called free speech 'the lifeblood of our industry', while the Writers Guild of America condemned the suspension as a violation of constitutional free speech rights. Former President Barack Obama posted on Bluesky, accusing the Trump administration of 'routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like'. He said this is 'precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent'.
California Governor Gavin Newsom described the actions as 'coordinated' and 'dangerous', saying the Republican party 'does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.' Illinois Governor JB Pritzker urged people to 'stand up and speak out', and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called for bipartisan opposition. Senator Chris Murphy warned 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', while Representative Ro Khanna said this may be 'the first administration to make comedy illegal'. Actors Ben Stiller and Wanda Sykes also voiced their opposition.
