After that ABC television network cancels Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show due to criticism of the behavior of the highest representatives of the American authorities after the murder of 31-year-old conservative activist Charlie Kirk, US President Donald Trump said that 'maybe' all television networks that criticize him should have their licenses revoked.
"I read somewhere that 97 percent of the networks were against me. Let me repeat: 97 percent negative about me, and yet I easily won all seven." 'faltering' states (in the 2024 election)," Trump told reporters on Air Force One, returning from the UK.
"Those media outlets are just portraying me in a bad light and they're getting their license. I think maybe they should have their license revoked. It's up to [the head of the regulatory commission] Brendan Carr to decide," the president added.
Disney-owned ABC announced it is indefinitely suspending Jimmy Kimmel's late-night TV show over his comments about Trump and his supporters' reaction to the murder of Charlie Kirk, calling them a "gang."
"MAGA gang (short for Make America Great Again "(Make America Great Again, which is the backbone of Trump's policies), they are desperately trying to portray this guy who killed Charlie Kirk as anyone but one of them, and they are doing everything they can to score political points," Kimmel said on the show earlier this week.
Kimmel suggested that the suspect in Kirk's murder, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was a supporter of Trump's Republican Party, although authorities in Utah said the suspect was "indoctrinated with leftist ideology."
The ABC network pulled Kimmel's show after threats of sanctions from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
On the September 15 show, Kimmel, 57, mocked Trump, saying his reaction to Kirk's killing was "like a four-year-old mourning a goldfish."
After the murder, Kimmel took to Instagram to condemn the crime and send "love" to Kirk's family.
Speaking to Fox News, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said the story doesn't end with Kimmel's suspension.
"We will continue to pressure broadcasters responsible for the public interest," he said.
"And if the broadcasters don't like it, they can surrender their license to the FCC."
The FCC has regulatory authority over major networks, such as ABC, and their independent affiliates.
But the agency has limited authority over cable channels, like Fox or MSNBC, and no authority over podcasts or most streaming content.
Legal experts say the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects free speech, prevents the FCC from lawfully revoking licenses based on political dissent.
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Joe Strazullo, a writer who worked on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" from 2015 to 2021, told the BBC that there is now fear among writers.
"It's heartbreaking to see the threat of losing their jobs," he said from Los Angeles.
"I've contacted many and no one knows exactly what's going on yet, and 'they' (meaning the government) are arranging things behind the scenes."
Kimmel's suspension was announced on September 17, shortly after Nextar Media, one of the largest TV station owners in the US, announced that it would not air his show "for the foreseeable future."
Nextstar called Kimmel's comments about Kirk "offensive and insensitive at a critical moment in our national political discourse."
Kirk, a well-known conservative activist and father of two, was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10th.
His widow, Erika Kirk, has been named the new head of the organization her husband co-founded, Turning Point USA.
Tyler Robinson charged with murder, and prosecutors have announced that they will seek the death penalty if he is found guilty.
Kirk was one of the activists who promoted the ideas of the Trump administration and is considered key to attracting young people to vote for Trump in last year's presidential election.
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Writers, actors, former US President Barack Obama and other prominent representatives of the Democratic Party condemned Kimmel's suspension.
Obama said it was "a new and dangerous level" cancellation culture".
"After years of complaining about the cancellation culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by threatening regulatory action against media companies if they don't silence or fire journalists and commentators they don't like," he posted online on Ixu.
Actor Ben Stiller said what happened to Kimmel was "not right," while the show's star "Hacks" Jean Smart said she was "horrified by the cancellation."
"What Jimmy said was free speech, not hate speech," she added.
Hosts of similarly formatted shows on rival networks expressed support for Kimmel.
"This is blatant censorship," he said. Stephen Colbert on CBS.
"You must not give an inch to autocrats," he said, referring to Trump, whom he often criticizes.
"Jimmy, I stand with you and your associates 100 percent," he said.
In July, CBS announced that it would not renew the contract to continue broadcasting. The Tonight Show with Stephen Colbert (The Late Show With Stephen Colbert).
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The Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, two Hollywood unions, condemned Kimmel's suspension as a violation of constitutional rights to free speech.
But others emphasized that this was about responsibility, not canceling the show.
"When a person says something that many people find offensive, rude, stupid in real time, and then that person is punished for it, that's not abolishing culture," said Dave Portnoy, founder of the media company Barstool Sports.
"These are the consequences for your words and actions."
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