ABC Had Every Right / And Jimmy Kimmel Isn’t Silenced

It’s time to be real for a moment.

ABC absolutely had the right to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! after his September 15, 2025 monologue about Charlie Kirk and MAGA.

The network answers to its shareholders, its affiliates, advertisers… and yes, regulatory risks (FCC).

They don’t have to please anyone else before pulling the plug. If the backlash is enough, the consequences are theirs to live with. You don’t have to like it, but it is what it is.

What ABC Did Was Legal / And Within Its Rights

Broadcast networks are private actors. They can decide what content airs.

The affiliates, local station owners, and ABC have contractual and business relationships. If enough affiliates threatened to drop the show, then yes, ABC can act.

If FCC threats swirl, ABC can evaluate risk. That’s business.

Suspending Kimmel was a business decision. Whether one agrees or not with Kimmel’s remarks, ABC is not violating free speech by removing him from air.

Free speech protects you from government censorship, not from consequences from private or corporate partners.

Kimmel Isn’t Silenced / Not Even Close

Oddly though, a lot of people are protesting as though Kimmel’s mic has been ripped out. He still has choices.

• He can go online. YouTube, X , social media broadly and post whatever he wants, whenever he wants. The "Social Media Town Square" is open to him.

• He can stage free events, live shows, podcast appearances. He can build or keep building a loyal audience without ABC if he’s willing. (1.77m viewers)

• And yes, his audience is not what it was a decade ago. Ratings for Kimmel have been slipping compared to other late night hosts.

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which is canceled and ending its run soon, continues to pull larger numbers (2.4m viewers).

  • Gutfeld! on Fox has grown into a big rival, is the highest watched Late Night show with 3.29m viewers, even taking the all important 18-49 demographic with 238K viewers!

So while ABC suspended the broadcast show, Kimmel hasn't lost his voice. He just lost one platform. Sure, platforms matter, but so does having freedom elsewhere.

The Real Danger Is FCC Overreach & Pay to Play Pressure

Here’s where things get concerning… when regulators start nudging, or threatening, networks to do certain things if they want to keep agency goodwill (or avoid license hassles), that looks too much like pay to play.

If ABC is effectively being told, “Do what we want, or you might lose your broadcast license,” then we are stepping into dangerous territory.

That kind of implicit coercion undermines the spirit of the First Amendment and damages the independence of media.

So yes, any insinuation that ABC must bend to political pressure or regulatory threats for favor is risky, even if ultimately ABC had the legal right to act as they did.

The Ground Truth. Freedom in Earthly Lives

Here’s the emotional truth some seem to be missing though.

Jimmy Kimmel is still enormously freer than Charlie Kirk is today.

• Kirk paid the ultimate price. He can no longer speak, no longer influence, no longer defend himself — in any platform.

• Kimmel? He still interacts with his family, his audience (though reduced), his platform is still enormous outside ABC.

So yeah, it stings. Plenty of people will say Kimmel is being silenced. They aren’t 100% wrong in feeling that way as it does feel like silencing… but in the strict sense, it’s not true. He’s not imprisoned. He’s not banned from speaking.

He’s just off one TV show.

ABC had a right.

Kimmel still has his voice. And yes, we should absolutely be watching the FCC as well as others in power like hawks, because regulatory threats for political speech set dangerous precedents.

But let’s stop pretending Kimmel is a martyr in chains. He’s not.

He still has his rights. He still has freedom. He still has choices.

Maybe what we need is less back and forth finger pointing and more reflection on what comedy is even supposed to be.

Was it necessary for Kimmel to blame MAGA? Was it necessary to turn Charlie Kirk’s assassination into monologue fodder on a late night comedy show?

For years, Kimmel has thrived on stirring controversy, taking shots at those who don’t share his worldview, and packaging it as “just jokes.” But maybe that’s the problem.

-Jimmy screwed Jimmy-

If Kimmel stuck to actual comedy… you know, the kind that entertains, unites, and brings people together through laughter… instead of doubling down on political attacks, maybe he wouldn’t be in this situation today.

If he used his platform to lift people up instead of dividing them, to remind viewers of what’s funny and fun instead of pushing his personal beliefs, he might be in a much stronger position right now.

There is plenty of blame to go around, and there is plenty to be concerned about. But one thing we have to realize that everyone involved is complicit in how it played out.