“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET and features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band.
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President Donald Trump said on Monday that JimmyKimmelshould immediately be fired by ABC and parent company Walt Disney, joining his wife Melania Trump in calling out the late-night talk show host for a monolog he delivered prior to a shooting near a gathering of journalists and politicians over the weekend.
Kimmelsaid last Thursday, in a parody segment on the upcoming White House correspondents’ dinner, that Melania Trump “had a glow like an expectant widow.”
Trumpand the first lady were rushed out of the dinner on Saturday after ashooting in the lobbyof the Washington Hilton. A suspect identified asCole Allencharged through a checkpoint and fired at Secret Service agents, wounding one, before he was subdued and arrested.
Trump has repeatedly urged broadcasters to remove comedy or news programs he dislikes or that have been critical of him and pressed regulators to take action to revoke licenses of broadcasters he says are unfair to him. Broadcasters have broad First Amendment rights to make jokes – even ones that are distasteful, experts note.
Earlier on Monday, Melania Trump calledKimmel’s remarks “corrosive” and a symptom of what she described as a political sickness in the United States.
Neither ABC nor Disney immediately responded to requests for comment.
The issue poses an early test forDisney CEO Josh D’Amaro, who took the reins last month.
“Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enableKimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community,” Melania Trump said in a post on X. “People likeKimmelshouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
She added: “Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monolog about my family isn’t comedy – his words are corrosive and deepens (sic) the political sickness within America.”
Donald Trump, who previously called forKimmelto be removed from the air, said the comedian’s joke was “something far beyond the pale. JimmyKimmelshould be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
FCC pressure on broadcasters
In September of last year, the head of the Federal Communications Commission pressured broadcasters to takeKimmeloff the air. ABCbriefly suspendedKimmel’s showthat month over comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Hours before the suspension, FCC head Brendan Carr warned that local broadcasters who airedKimmelcould face fines or loss of licenses and said “it’s time for them to step up.”
His comments garnered pushback from the entertainment industry and politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who likened Carr’s threats to those of an organized-crime boss.
In September, Sinclairand Nexstar Media Groupbriefly tookKimmel’s show off the air on their 70 ABC-affiliated stations covering nearly a quarter of U.S. households.
Carr approvedNexstar’s $3.5 billion tie-up with Tegna, but a U.S. judge has put the merger on hold.
Carr has said he wants to make it easier for local broadcasters to preempt national programming. He did not immediately respond on Monday to a request for comment on the first lady’s remarks.
Sinclair and Nexstar did not immediately comment on Monday.
Trump, who was the subject of two assassination attempts, has repeatedly attacked the media and threatened broadcast licenses. Trump had praisedKimmel’s suspension in September.
In November, Trump criticized an ABC News correspondent for asking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist and suggested the FCC should move to revoke the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations.
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