The suspension of TV host Jimmy Kimmel is one of a series of concessions that major media outlets, exposed to pressure from the Donald Trump administration, are making to preserve their economic interests, even at the cost of freedom of expression, which is being pushed into the background, writes Agence France-Presse.
The American television network ABC has indefinitely removed the Jimmy Kimmel Live show from its schedule last night due to the host's comments about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
ABC made the decision after Kimmel made comments on his show Monday and Tuesday about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel suggested in a comment on Monday that Kirk's murder suspect, Tyler Robinson, could be a Republican who supports Trump.
As reported by Agence France-Presse, before ABC pulled its "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show for comments deemed inappropriate following Kirk's murder, CBS announced in July that it was canceling the rival show "The Late Show" hosted by Stephen Colbert, who criticized his employer for caving in to Donald Trump.
Stephen Colbert called the $16 million settlement that Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, paid to settle Trump's intended lawsuit over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris a "good, big tip."
And ABC agreed in December to settle another dispute brought by the US president, paying him $15 million.
Before the decision to pull Kimmel's show, Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr urged local broadcasters not to air the show.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called the intervention "an act of government censorship without a chairman" on the X network.
Some say that ABC had every legal means to defend Jimmy Kimmel, but that they decided that it was no longer profitable in terms of audience and revenue, and that there was an economic calculation behind it all.
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