The Trump-aligned Federal Communications Commission ordered Disney's ABC to seek early broadcast licence renewals for all eight of its owned television stations on 28 April 2026, days after First Lady Melania Trump publicly called Jimmy Kimmel's on-air joke 'hateful and violent' and demanded the network take action.
The FCC's formal order, issued under Chairman Brendan Carr, gives Disney until 28 May 2026 to file all renewal applications, pulling the licences years ahead of their scheduled 2028-to-2031 review window under what the agency describes as the Communications Act's public interest standard.
The Joke, the Shooting and the Call to Fire Kimmel
The chain of events began on Thursday 23 April, when Kimmel aired a mock alternative White House Correspondents' Dinner sketch on his late-night programme. 'Our first lady Melania is here. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,' Kimmel quipped. The sketch aired three days before the actual Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, when a heavily armed man, Cole Allen, allegedly attempted to enter the event's ballroom while President Trump was present. Allen was charged on 28 April with attempting to assassinate the president.
In a post on X, Melania Trump called Kimmel's comment 'hateful and violent' and urged ABC to take action. President Trump followed on Truth Social, calling for Kimmel to be 'immediately fired.' White House Communications Director Steven Cheung amplified the demand on X, writing that Kimmel was 'making a disgusting joke about assassinating the president' and insisting 'ABC needs to fire him immediately.'
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.
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 27, 2026
People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to…
Kimmel responded on his Monday 27 April programme. 'It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am,' he said. He addressed Melania Trump directly: 'I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.'
He also told viewers that under the First Amendment, 'Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I.' His Monday monologue accrued more than four million views in under 24 hours.
Early Renewal as Regulatory Weapon
The FCC's media bureau published its formal order on Tuesday afternoon. The filing states: 'The FCC determines that calling in Disney's ABC licenses for early renewal, at this time, under the Communications Act's public interest standard is essential within the meaning of agency regulations. Therefore, Disney's ABC is hereby directed to file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days — in other words, by May 28, 2026.' The order makes no mention of Kimmel by name.
The FCC stated the review relates to a probe into Disney's ABC stations 'for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC's rules, including the agency's prohibition on unlawful discrimination' tied to its DEI policies. Carr had signalled this move publicly as recently as 14 March 2026, writing on X that the Communications Act authorises the FCC to call in licences for early renewal.
BRENDAN CARR ON DISNEY’S LICENSE:
— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) April 28, 2026
“There’s lots of options. You have a license. The licenses come to you every so often. You can accelerate when a license comes to you and say, hey, we have significant concerns with the value of conducting your operations.
“We want to review… https://t.co/a4jrzcIIGG pic.twitter.com/KrzxREn7ai
Speaking on a podcast hosted by Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Carr said: 'You can accelerate when a license comes due and say, "hey, we have significant concerns with the value of conducting your operations. We want to review your license now and decide if you're in the public interest."'
The eight licences under review cover ABC-owned stations in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Fresno and Durham, North Carolina. None were due for renewal until 2028 at the earliest. Analysts note the FCC had not invoked this early-renewal mechanism against a major broadcaster in decades.
Disney Digs In as Congress and Lawyers Invoke First Amendment
Disney confirmed receipt of the order and issued a formal statement declining to capitulate. 'ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information and public-interest programming,' the company said. 'We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels.'
FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, the commission's sole Democrat, condemned the action in direct terms. 'This is the most egregious action this FCC has taken in violation of the First Amendment to date,' Gomez wrote. 'As part of its ongoing campaign of censorship and control, the White House called publicly for the silencing of a vocal critic, and this FCC has now answered that call. This is an unprecedented and politically motivated attempt to interfere with how broadcasters operate, and this unlawful overreach will fail.'
The FCC is now threatening ABC's broadcast licenses, days after Donald Trump and Melania Trump demanded they fire Jimmy Kimmel.
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 28, 2026
This is straight out of the authoritarian playbook.
Mr. President: Read the Constitution. Freedom of speech is the First Amendment for good reason.
Congressional pushback was swift. Senator Bernie Sanders posted on X: 'The FCC is now threatening ABC's broadcast licenses, days after Donald Trump and Melania Trump demanded they fire Jimmy Kimmel. This is straight out of the authoritarian playbook. Mr. President: Read the Constitution. Freedom of speech is the First Amendment for good reason.'
With Disney vowing to contest the order through the courts and Kimmel returning to air on Tuesday night without missing a single monologue, the administration's pressure campaign has so far produced the opposite of silence.
