The Walt Disney Company has officially suspended Jimmy Kimmel as of Tuesday, September 17th. The suspension is indefinite, and honestly very surprising. In fact, it’s so surprising that many felt that it did not make any sense.
The suspension is said to be over comments Kimmel made that were said to be insensitive about the shooter who ended the life of Charlie Kirk. Now, one needs to evaluate that. Kimmel DID NOT say a thing about Kirk. Instead, he mentioned the shooter and MAGA.
However, we should also point out that Disney did not suspend him due to a violation of their policies. Disney was forced to suspend him. However, that might be a bit vague, so let’s examine the real reason Jimmy Kimmel is currently suspended.
What Jimmy Kimmel Actually Said
You’ll likely see a lot of reports online about Kimmel allegedly saying something negative or insensitive about Charlie Kirk following his passing. This is simply untrue. Here are Kimmel’s actual comments that have caused this false uproar:
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them. Doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
What he said here is factual. Several Trump Supporters were livid when reports came out that connected him with the far-right movement. The shooter is also white, which surprised many on the right. Politicians, including Donald Trump himself, blamed Democrats for everything involving Kirk’s death, which was untrue. Again, Kimmel used proven facts.
Bogus Threats By The FCC
The FCC under the Trump Administration has been an absolute joke. Often working at the will of the President of the United States, Donald Trump. The President has used the FCC to try to remove people he does not like, as well as affect networks. Often, he claims he will take their broadcast license.
FYI: There is no such thing.
The FCC has since parroted Trump on this, and recently made this same remark over Kimmel’s comments. They threatened to pull ABC’s broadcast license, which again, they cannot do. However, the FCC could use other forms of leverage to get what it wants.
Disney’s Hands Were Tied
A potentially significant issue with broadcast television in the United States is that it has TV stations and affiliates nationwide. Every state has its own morning news and weather team, along with other local broadcasts. Due to this, they are owned by someone or by a large media group unaffiliated with the larger network. For example, Sinclair Broadcasting owns several ABC affiliates.
This means the FCC could potentially sway these affiliate groups to no longer allow specific shows on the larger network. The affiliates technically have the right to pull any show off the air that they want in their particular affiliate. This is exactly what one group decided to do, known as Nexstar Media Group.
FCC Uses Nexstar To Force Disney’s Hand
Nexstar is currently in the process of a big merger with Tegna Inc. The deal was agreed to in August for $6.2 billion. Nexstar will add Tegna’s 64 stations across 51 markets across the United States. This would make Nexstar, an already major player in the TV Station/Affiliate world, the largest owner of local TV Stations in the United States.
However, for that to happen, they need the FCC to sign off on the merger. Are you starting to connect the dots yet? The FCC is essentially using this to force through what they want by leveraging approval or denial of the merger. Nexstar on Wednesday threatened to take Kimmel’s show off the air across the country in its markets as a result. Forcing Disney to suspend Kimmel over his comments.
Sinclair Got In On The Action
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is known for pushing its conservative ideology in a very forceful way. They have been caught doing it several times over the years, too. As of this writing, they actually own more ABC affiliates than any other media group, with 24 across the country. They decided, today, to use that power to add to what Nexstar pushed.
They also threatened not to broadcast Kimmel’s show. Vice Chairman Jason Smith said about what Jimmy said:
“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country.”
This is how you know he did not even listen to or read what Kimmel actually said and is just using talking points. The words were not inappropriate or “deeply insensitive.”
Sinclair Supports The FCC’s Move
VP Smith also claimed that he felt the FCC was right to push back against Kimmel, saying:
“We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today, and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”
They plan to air a special remembrance of Charlie Kirk on Friday in Jimmy Kimmel Live’s timeslot. The special airs across all of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s affiliates.
Sinclair Is Also Openly Extorting Jimmy Kimmel
As if doing all of this was not problematic enough, Sinclair is also pushing way too far. In fact, despite Kimmel having nothing to apologize for, nor a platform to do it, they are demanding it. They claim to want a direct apology to the Kirk Family.
On top of this, they want Kimmel to make a “meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.”
This is problematic because it asks Jimmy Kimmel to pay out of his own pocket to people he may not support. While donating to the Kirk family might be understandable, forcing Kimmel to donate to Turning Point USA is wrong. Jimmy does not agree with the policies of Turning Point, so why would he donate to it?
Forcing him to donate is a form of extortion, as they are holding his show hostage until he pays up over a comment that did not involve Charlie in any form. This is the definition of extortion.
Sinclair’s Plans Are A Violation Of FCC Guidelines
A lot of the issue here comes down to payola. Any local affiliate can generally choose not to air a particular program. This decision itself does not violate any FCC bylaws. However, if the station conditions the restoration or airing of a show on showrunners or stars making a “donation” or any other form of payment, that’s called “valuable consideration.”
This refers to anything of value, such as money or services, being provided to a broadcast station in exchange for airing content. This also requires the station to announce the sponsorship to its audience.
With that comes the FCC’s overall payola rules. If this quid-pro-quo isn’t disclosed on-air, it’s an FCC violation. Doing this on a social media app does not count; it must be made in a broadcast. Also, back in March 2025, the FCC warned that conditioning airplay on getting something of value, especially threatening to reduce that airplay, can also violate payola rules if not handled through the FCC’s sponsorship ID.
Trump’s Involvement
While President Donald Trump was likely not the person who orchestrated all of this, he more than likely would sign off on it. Trump has hated Jimmy Kimmel ever since his first term in office. This is actually around the time that Kimmel’s show began to get slightly political. He felt it was his mission to call out the Trump issues, and at the time, he had protection due to Disney.
Of course, Disney has been relatively open about supporting the LGBTQ+ community as well as other various subgroups. They have been run primarily by people who would be considered “corporate liberals.” It’s not exactly a good thing, but they are willing to push back when Trump tries to push the mouse around. Knowing this, Kimmel began to go after Trump and never stopped.
The Authoritarian Move
For those who know their history, it’s pretty well known that authoritarians do not like free speech or freedom of the press. They aim to restrict the information people hear and manipulate the public as frequently as possible. Think modern-day North Korea or Nazi Germany. Both heavily controlled their state media.
This is what Trump is doing now. He is weaponizing the FCC to use corporate mergers against his enemies. With Jimmy Kimmel, it was the random Nexstar merger. He is also getting Stephen Colbert off the air by next year. He is leaving, many believe, due to the Skydance/Paramount merger, which the FCC held up until the administration’s demands were met. Ending The Late Show seems to have been part of that deal.
Colbert has been number one in his timeslot and generated millions for CBS. Paramount tried to claim otherwise, but the finances tell otherwise.
What Does Jimmy Kimmel Do?
It must be hard for Jimmy Kimmel, having to deal with all of this. His comments were very tame and nowhere near controversial. Even most conservatives can see what this is all really about. Kimmel has a lot of money, so he could very well make a one-time donation as Sinclair wants.
However, Sinclair does not seem to be stopping at the donation. They claimed that they did not plan to air the show “until appropriate steps have been taken to uphold the standards expected of a national broadcast platform.”
The issue here is that what one might think is wrong in one context might be fine in another. Sinclair may not like the show or Kimmel, but trying to control the content the show puts out effectively is a problem. It cannot be tolerated.
Lose Control, Lose All
President Trump might not like Jimmy Kimmel, and there could be many media groups that do not care for him either. If the show is allowed back on the air with Trump, among others, approving the content, it would be a problem. It would undermine free speech by taking Kimmel’s right to speak his mind away.
He’d be handcuffed, and not in the fun way. Which might make Kimmel feel he couldn’t stay on the show. Kimmel has openly discussed the idea of retiring in recent years. Many felt he chose to stay around longer because of Trump being back in office. Knowing he could add so much to the dialogue, he does bring a lot of value.
Taking Jimmy Kimmel away from the country now would honestly be a significant problem. He has millions of fans who will be unhappy to lose him, especially when they realize it’s all manufactured nonsense that led to his dismissal.