Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, threatened on Wednesday to take action against Disney and ABC in response to comments made by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel about the recent killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s brother.
During his Monday monologue, Kimmel addressed the politicization of the tragedy, suggesting that the alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. “The MAGA Gang is desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
In an interview with right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson, Carr condemned the remarks as “the sickest conduct possible” and suggested the FCC could move to revoke the licenses of ABC affiliates as a means to pressure Disney into punishing Kimmel.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr stated. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” He added that broadcasters like ABC “have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”
Carr also attacked Kimmel personally, calling him “talentless” and claiming the host displayed “some sort of desperate irrelevance.” Disney and ABC have not yet issued a public response.
This is not the first time Carr has targeted ABC over political commentary. In July, he told Fox News that the daytime talk show “The View” was “now in the crosshairs of this administration” due to co-host Joy Behar’s scathing criticism of President Trump.
Kimmel has also been a frequent target of Trump himself. Following the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s late-night show, a move Carr publicly celebrated, Trump suggested that “Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel.”
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