Cruz Slams FCC Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension
So here’s what’s been going on — a big political and media storm has erupted around late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, and Senator Ted Cruz is right at the center of it. This all started after Kimmel made a controversial monologue earlier this week. He joked about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and suggested that the suspected shooter might have been a pro-Trump Republican. But authorities later clarified that the suspect actually leaned toward leftist ideology. That framing sparked outrage, and before long, the Federal Communications Commission, led by chairman Brendan Carr, stepped in.
Carr publicly accused Kimmel of misleading the American public and even went so far as to warn ABC, the network that airs Kimmel, that consequences could follow if the host wasn’t pulled off the air. He hinted that ABC’s broadcast license could be in jeopardy. That’s when Disney, which owns ABC, decided to suspend Kimmel indefinitely. Carr’s remark — “we can do this the easy way or the hard way” — sounded to many people like a threat.
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Enter Senator Ted Cruz. On his podcast, Cruz said he was glad Kimmel was off the air because he strongly disagreed with what the comedian said. But at the same time, he slammed Carr’s approach, comparing it to something out of a mob movie. Cruz literally mimicked a gangster voice, saying it felt like a scene from Goodfellas . He described Carr’s actions as “dangerous as hell” because using government power to silence media could backfire, especially on conservatives in the long run. He warned that if regulators start dictating what can or can’t be said, free speech is put at serious risk.
Reactions among Republicans have been split. Some, like Senator Thom Tillis, echoed Cruz and called Carr’s behavior unacceptable. Others, like Senator Jerry Moran, urged caution, pointing out that conservatives have traditionally defended free speech above all else. Still, not everyone sees it as a free speech issue. Senator Mike Rounds suggested it was more of an employer-versus-employee matter — essentially a business decision by ABC.
Meanwhile, the fallout hasn’t been limited to politics. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which shares the same acronym as America’s ABC, has been swamped with misdirected complaints from furious viewers. Many of those messages accused the network of bowing to political pressure, betraying the First Amendment, and even threatened boycotts of Disney, ABC, and affiliated sponsors. Some people said they weren’t fans of Kimmel himself but were still upset at what they saw as censorship. Others praised the decision, saying Kimmel had gone too far for too long.
The White House also got involved. President Donald Trump actually defended Carr and brushed off Cruz’s criticism, even though Cruz is usually one of his closest allies. Trump also lashed out at a reporter who pressed him on the free speech issue, showing just how tense the situation has become.
For now, Kimmel hasn’t spoken publicly about his suspension, but fellow late-night hosts like Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert have voiced their support for him. And with Charlie Kirk’s death still fresh — Congress even passed a resolution to honor his birthday — the controversy has grown into a full-blown cultural battle over media, politics, and the limits of free speech.
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