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Jimmy Kimmel fire row: As Trump vs ABC escalates, free speech experts give verdict
Legal experts flagged concerns after FCC's latest decision on ABC TV licenses amid the Jimmy Kimmel ‘widow’ remark row
The Federal Communications Commission’s decision to accelerate a license review of Walt Disney Co’s ABC TV stations came soon after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania called for the firing of Jimmy Kimmel.
Bloomberg cited sources to report that the move was precipitated by Trump’s plea for ABC. The comedian became a focus of Trump again this week after Kimmel made jokes at the president and first lady’s expense on his April 23 show, a day before a shooting took place at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
However, an FCC spokesperson told NBC News the move was tied to an investigation into Disney’s ‘DEI conduct, not any speech’.
Experts flag concerns
Raymond Ku, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, warned that ‘any threat to a broadcaster’s license is a threat to a free press’.
“In Trump’s second term, the FCC chair has publicly stated that, in his opinion, the commission is not an independent agency,” he said, as per Huffpost.
Ku described the review as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘illegal’, adding it is the “clearest sign to date that under Brendan Carr, the FCC works for Trump and not the American public.
What triggered the backlash
The controversy stems from a parody monologue aired on April 23 on Jimmy Kimmel Live! — a spoof of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
During the segment, Kimmel joked about Melania Trump, saying she had ‘a glow like an expectant widow’.
“Melania’s birthday is on Sunday ... she’s planning to celebrate the same way she always does - looking out a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?’”
The show aired two days before a real-life security scare at the dinner, where a 31-year-old man, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly attempted to storm the event with weapons and now faces charges including attempted assassination of Trump.
Despite the timing, Kimmel’s remarks were later accused by the Trumps of inciting harm.
Trump and Melania demand action
Melania Trump sharply criticised the comedian on X, calling the monologue ‘corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America’.
“A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him,” she wrote. “Enough is enough. 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.”
Hours later, Donald Trump escalated the attack on his platform Truth Social.
“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” he wrote. He also accused the host of issuing a ‘call to violence’.
Kimmel responds on-air
Kimmel pushed back during his next monologue, defending the intent behind his remarks.
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” he said. “It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination. And they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence in particular.”
Free speech experts weigh in
Legal scholars say the demands from the Trumps represent a troubling challenge to constitutional norms. Heidi Kitrosser, a law professor at Northwestern University, told Huffpost: “The calls by the Trumps for Kimmel to be fired are deeply concerning, because they strike at the heart of free speech in the United States.”
She added that ‘it’s crucial that we the people retain the right to criticize, and certainly to joke about, those who govern us’.
“For the most powerful man in the world, the US president, and his spouse to call for a comedian to be fired because he offends them is the stuff of dictators and mad kings,” she said. “It is behavior unfit for a democracy.”
Ku echoed similar concerns, stating: “This is a flagrant abuse of power and a direct attack on freedom of speech. Threats of this sort are what we expect from dictators, not the president of the United States.”
