Hollywood Week: Jimmy Kimmel Suspended, Scapegoated by Nexstar, First Amendment Freedoms, Obama, Meyers, Colbert, O’Brien

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Category: Haute This Issue

Published on Saturday, 20 September 2025 09:38

Written by Janet Walker

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has found himself in the middle of a ballooning First Amendment controversy, as the comedian was suspended indefinitely over words that apparently created a firestorm of MAGA backlash.

The Facts

Kimmel who said during his Monday night monologue, "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 to do everything they can to score political points," was suspended indefinitely Wednesday, September 17, after Nexstar Media Group, who is currently in the process of seeking FCC approval for an additional 64 television stations threatened, Kimmel's home network ABC-Disney, to preempt the show.

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Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar's broadcasting division said, "Mr. Kimmel's comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located. . . Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."

The Truth

Unfortunately, Jimmy Kimmel is a scapegoat, as the suspension has little to do with a few barely scraping the surface words regarding the alleged shooter in the assassination in Utah, and more to do with Nexstar's current effort to gain the FCC approval's on acquisitions of 64 additional television stations in 51 markets.

As Paramount caved and settled it's CBS "60 Minutes" defamation lawsuit with President Trump which moved the Paramount-Skydance deal forward, Nexstar needed a big move to show the FCC they were proud MAGA supporters, and Kimmel's alleged insensitive remarks gave them the opportunity to flex, and to present to the FCC a proud MAGA forever frontline.

"Nexstar announced a $6.2 billion acquisition of rival Tegna, which would give it 64 additional news stations in 51 markets to go with the 200 owned and partner stations it already has, and bring the company's market coverage of the U.S. to about 80 percent. And current FCC rules cap any one company's share at 39 percent," reported The Hollywood Reporter.

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First Amendment Freedom At Stake

This firestorm over First Amendment freedoms, has once again created a fissure in society. Nexstar, and rival Sinclair have merged on this point, agreeing that Kimmel, that rascally devil, has somehow said words that have caused great public grief, leaving citizens, from coast to coast, weeping in the streets over his insensitivity.

Protestors gathered outside the Disney Headquarters in Burbank, and a growing wave of media, public and private citizens verbally support Kimmel and in defense of freedom denounce the actions that ping the bandwidth of censorship. What is also clear is a pattern of placation by corporations to secure approval by the FCC. And that is what this is all about. Unfortunately, no one has the courage to call it what it is, a quid pro quo influence favor.

Former Disney Chief Michael Eisner wrote, "The 'suspending indefinitely' of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC's aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation. Maybe the Constitution should have said, 'Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one's political or financial self-interest,'" reported The Hollywood Reporter.

Why does the First Amendment freedoms guaranteed to all citizens in the Constitution only apply when the MAGA Republicans speak hate rhetoric? When the political persuasions are known and a citizen influencer speaks, they become targeted for exercising their first amendment freedoms.

With each infringement over clearly protected speech, America becomes less free.

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Nexstar, Sinclair, and Kimmel's Return

Sinclair, Nexstar's business rivel, who is also hoping to expand their portfolio of television affiliates which would need FCC approval, stated in People Magazine that Kimmel could have his job back, if he offered an apology to the family of the victim, and offered compensation, "a reasonable donation," to both the victim's family and his organization.

This can be interpreted two ways, first the blowback is getting a bit much, so we'll let you have your job back, if you grovel and secondly it speaks of extortion.

First, it is not Kimmel's job, or duty, to provide financial assistance to this man's family. If Sinclair is concerned about his family's financial status, they should be the first to step up and donate.

If it were Kimmel's responsibility, or any person who feathers are ruffled with these punchy late night monologues, to care for every person who felt somehow stung by the word choices used, then perhaps they should honor those who actually put their lives on the line every day, and support first responders, and families of those who were slain in service, who aid society instead of those who attempt to build walls and create divisions. Grovel and offer an apology for exercising First Amendment freedoms equates to a repulsive power squeeze usually reserved for the vulnerable in society.

However Kimmel may want to return, although it is rumored he spoke of retirement often. If he would offer an apology, one would hope, especially after this brouhaha, that he would take the moment to explain that he is simply sorry that he didn't speak from his heart, instead of speaking from the hip and stopping short.

The expected extortion gift? It would need to be airtight trust for the victim's children, who are innocent, and had yet to be indoctrinated and racialized, something that could not be touched by anyone, not a parent or guardian, until each child reached 25 years of age and possibly paid for by Disney. And as in Scarface, when Mel Bernstein, played by Harris Yulin, attempted to extort his bribe from Tony Montana "maybe you could throw in a couple of first class tickets" to Disneyland.

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Hosts, Critics Show Support

The support for Jimmy Kimmel has been overwhelming as former presidents, public and private citizens have taken to social media, and staged personal media campaign and protests over what is generally considered censorship.

Former president Barack Obama wrote this on X, "This commentary offers a clear, powerful statement of why freedom of speech is at the heart of democracy and must be defended, whether the speaker is Charlie Kirk or Jimmy Kimmel, MAGA supporters or MAGA opponents," Newsweek reported.

Comedian Seth Meyers, the host of his own late night show, said, In USAToday, "This is a big moment in our democracy and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression, . . . May I just say, it is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way it is an honor to do this show every night. I wake up every day and count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech and we're going to keep doing our show the way we've always done it with enthusiasm and integrity."

"Longtime late night host Conan O'Brien weighed in Friday on his colleague Jimmy Kimmel's suspension at ABC, warning of a broader threat to free speech. "The suspension of @jimmykimmel and the promise to silence other Late Night hosts for criticizing the administration should disturb everyone on the Right, Left, and Center," O'Brien, who hosted late night shows on NBC and TBS, wrote in a post on X. "It's wrong and anyone with a conscience knows it's wrong," he added, The Hill reported. 

Pundit and comedian Stephen Colbert, who recently won two Emmys, after his show was canceled by Paramount, stated in a an Instagram post, "The Late Night Show stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his staff."

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Film Critics' Groups Denounce Nexstar and Disney ABC Decisions to Suspend "Jimmy Kimmel live!"

We, the members of the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics, strongly condemn the actions taken by Nexstar and Disney-ABC to pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" off the air. For decades, our organizations have represented a profession that is enabled by the First Amendment. Kimmel's long-running talk show promotes free speech, including when it gives film artists the chance to discuss their work. There is only one word to describe the decision by powerful media corporations to silence an individual's perspective due to fear of repercussions by the government: censorship. This is the antithesis of the values embodied by our work. We demand a reversal of this decision and encourage our colleagues across the industry to do the same.

There has been no word from Disney-ABC over the return of Jimmy Kimmel.

Janet Walker, Screenwriter, Author, and Publisher of Haute-Lifestyle.com, Announces Release of "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story"

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation’s top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published “Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story,” and “Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose,” which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.