OPINION

What to Make of the Pro-Censorship Crowd Now Crying Over Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Sep 18, 2025
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Since the Charlie Kirk assassination played out last week, this country has been roiling, and there seems to be little throttling over the reactions. Both sides of the political aisle have become agitated, and the repercussions continue. It’s like a pre-game brawl between the two teams, and the refs are even participating.

The latest development played out on Wednesday evening when news broke that talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel saw his suspension handed down by ABC. This differs greatly from the previous outrage over Stephen Colbert, who was announced as cancelled, but only after his contract expires deep into next year. Also, unlike the erroneous claims that Trump pressured CBS to end Colbert, there are hints at direct action with Kimmel’s punishment.

The press is aghast that it seems FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr had a hand in pushing for the move. He appeared with Benny Johnson and made some comments about Kimmel’s comments on Monday regarding the Kirk killing.

To explain the alleged involvement of Carr and the FCC, he did not go to ABC and compel them to yank Kimmel. Instead, it is believed he had leveraged a pair of the affiliate syndicates that own multiple stations across the country. Nextstar and Sinclair, owners of many ABC stations, both came out with statements saying they would not run Kimmel’s program until the network took some action. 

Now on the record, I do not support this kind of involvement from the FCC. I have two main reasons to oppose this effort. The first reason is that this is trending right up to the state dictating acceptable speech. The second is that I am in favor of allowing Kimmel and his ilk to spew their bile and expose their positions. It is exposing their beliefs to their own detriment. If Carr did indeed leverage those syndicates, it is a potential problem.

Recommended

Is This the Most Vile Reaction to Kimmel Getting Pulled Off Air? Leah Barkoukis
A High School Student Wore a MAGA Hat to Honor Charlie Kirk – This Is How the School Reacted Jeff Charles

But the main issue is that this was something the press, the Democrats, and many on the left had actually pushed to take place, only regarding the other side. Senator Adam Schiff is mewling today about censorship, yet there he was a few years ago lobbying for Tucker Carlson to be silenced. Which brings us to another blind squirrel on this matter, CNN’s Brian Stelter.

As expected, that network’s media maven is out there mewling over the Kimmel suspension, but this borders on the intolerable, considering his prior positions on this kind of act. Back during his original stint at CNN, he was on his “Reliable Sources” show with his ward, boy wonder Oliver Darcy, carping about Fox News. What this supposed journalist was promoting was astounding.

Stelter & Darcy (not a vaudeville act, mind you) were complaining over the alleged misinformation delivered by Fox and Tucker Carlson specifically, but they realized that as a cable station, it was not beholden to the same FCC licensing standards. So their proposal? They leaned on the cable providers and tried to get Fox News removed entirely from their channel offerings.

Well, now, Brian, you should be thrilled by the action taken by ABC. They removed from their airwaves the man who just nights ago was delivering misinformation about Charlie Kirk’s assassin. This is the very thing you had called for, so you should be pleased. This underscores the very issue with the Leftist activists; when they push their aggressive platforms, they never consider the long-range effects and that it could come back and be used on them.

For years, Stelter, the press, and the Democrats have been pushing the concept that silencing the other side is acceptable. Joe Biden’s administration compelled social media to mute voices, he formed his Disinformation Governance Board, and even went to the length of arresting a journalist – all with minimal-to-zero pushback from the media.

But today we are supposed to weep and clutch pearls. Here is the crude irony behind this action against Kimmel; he produced no such tears when another commentator was put out of work due to comments. When Fox News decided to dispatch Tucker Carlson, there was Kimmel on the air, delivering the opposite of expressing concerns or warnings. No, he was dancing on Tucker’s pink slip.

This is the common trait with those in the media circles and the Leftists in general; they lack the character of foresight. As a result, they are today squealing over the application of the very actions they have enthusiastically been promoting. If only those on the Right had been warning them how this would be a likely result.