Canceling Kimmel

On Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr dropped in via webcam for an appearance on far-right personality Benny Johnson’s program. That the FCC chairman would sit down with Johnson at all was remarkable in itself. Johnson has built his brand trafficking in MAGA memes, misinformation, and cultural outrage; not typically the type of programming a government official would want to lend their credibility to. In any case, it wasn’t the venue alone that raised eyebrows. It was what Carr said once the program started taping.

Speaking to Johnson’s audience, Carr lashed out at ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a remark the comedian made during his Monday monologue. Kimmel had said, “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, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” The day after Kimmel’s comment, authorities released the suspected killer’s messages, which showed he held disdain for the “hate” Kirk espoused. Notably, Kimmel never stated that the suspect was on the right, but that is how many interpreted the remarks.

Indeed, Carr took significant issue with the comment, first dismissing Kimmel as “frankly talentless” on Johnson’s show. He then went further, delivering a naked threat aimed at Disney, ABC’s parent company: “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” he said. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” It was an extraordinary moment: a sitting FCC chairman openly pressuring a network to silence one of its marquee talents.