Former President Obama condemned ABC for pulling Jimmy Kimmel off the air Thursday, calling it "government coercion" by a Trump administration official.
Why it matters: Obama, who infrequently wades into political fights, joined other high-profile personalities in accusing the administration of hypocrisy for threatening broadcasters after the MAGA movement spent years railing against "cancel culture" and "censorship."
What they're saying: "After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like," Obama said in a post on X.
- "This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it," he added.
Driving the news: Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr warned in a Wednesday interview his agency could revoke broadcasting licenses for airing "garbage" content, though he didn't specifically connect that content to Kirk's killing.
- Nexstar, which owns local television stations across the U.S., announced Wednesday it would preempt "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" for the "foreseeable future" for its ABC affiliates over Kimmel's comments related to Charlie Kirk's death.
- Carr praised Nexstar for its actions, and encouraged other broadcasters to "follow Nexstar's lead."
- ABC pulled Kimmel's show off the air later that day.
Context: Kimmel condemned political violence the first time he addressed the fatal shooting, but in the show's opening monologue on Monday, he criticized the "MAGA" gang for using Kirk's killing to "score political points."
- A string of high-profile firings of people who have made comments viewed as "insensitive" towards Charlie Kirk's death have also supercharged accusations of free speech censorship.
The other side: Conservatives on social media were quick to call Obama and Democrats hypocritical for monitoring and investigating journalists and, under President Biden, for pressuring tech platforms to censor inaccurate COVID-19 content.
- Kimmel has long been a target of Republicans who point out he hosted a fundraiser last year for Biden.
- His comments suggesting the shooter was a Trump supporter also conflicts with the evidence prosecutors have laid out that indicate the shooter held left-leaning views.
Zoom in: Other comedians, such as Wanda Sykes, Marc Maron, Ben Stiller and Mike Birbiglia also condemned the FCC's influence on ABC, and warned of growing government censorship.
- "This is the United States Government silencing voices that they disagree with. FCC chair Carr put this out. … Look, if they can come for Kimmel, they can come for anybody," Maron said in an Instagram video Thursday morning.
- Sykes said that she was set to appear on Kimmel's show Wednesday before it was "abruptly" pulled.
- "He didn't end the Ukraine war, or solve Gaza within his first week, but he did end freedom of speech within his first year," Sykes said on Instagram, referencing the president's campaign promise to end the fighting in both countries.
Zoom out: Trump and his allies have long railed against late night hosts, with the president similarly celebrating CBS' decision to cancel "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert in July.
- Trump also called on NBC to cancel Jimmy Fallon's and Seth Meyers' shows Wednesday, calling them "two total losers" in a Truth Social post.
- Vice President JD Vance jokingly chimed in, congratulating Secretary of State Marco Rubio for becoming "the new host of ABC's late night show" in an X post Thursday morning.
Go deeper: Thousands flagged online for cheering Charlie Kirk's death
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comments from comedians, Vance and Trump.
