ABC News may be shut down for good soon. The Federal Communications Commission is coming for ABC, and liberal comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s big mouth is to blame.
The FCC is filing paperwork Tuesday challenging the broadcast licenses of all eight Disney-owned ABC stations, a dramatic escalation in the battle between the White House and the left-wing network.
Disney-owned ABC affiliates will now be forced to prove to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that they have been operating in the public interest. The licenses weren’t due for renewal for several years, but Carr is accelerating the process in the wake of Kimmel’s controversial “expectant widow” joke about First Lady Melania Trump… a joke just days before a gunman stormed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in a third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
Kimmel has refused to apologize. Instead, he doubled down on his show Monday, claiming the joke was about the Trumps’ age difference and nothing more.
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80, and she’s younger than I am. It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination — and they know that,” Kimmel said. “I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular, but I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house.”
Melania Trump wasn’t buying it.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” the first lady posted on X.
“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough,” she continued. “It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
President Trump posted on Truth Social demanding Kimmel be fired.
The FCC’s move is unprecedented. The review does not specifically name Kimmel, but instead is a broad examination of everything Disney’s stations air over publicly owned airwaves.
It’s not the first time Kimmel has caused ABC a headache. Last year, Disney briefly suspended the host after he made jokes about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, suggesting a MAGA supporter was responsible. The suspect actually held left-wing views.
Disney has shown no such tolerance in the past when conservative voices stepped out of line. The company fired actress Gina Carano in 2020 over social media posts it claimed were “abhorrent and unacceptable.” ABC canceled Roseanne Barr’s top-rated show in 2018 over a single tweet.
Kimmel, however, keeps his job regardless of how far he goes.