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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said he expects broadcasters and programs with FCC licenses to “broadly serve the public interest,” after the agency’s pressure led to the suspension of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Carr made the comments during a Wednesday appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
“They are now facing the consequences of the choices they have made to appeal to a very narrow audience. You can do that, you can start a podcast, but if you are going to have a license with the FCC, we expect you to broadly serve the public interest,” Carr said.
This comes after Disney’s move to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following comments Kimmel made about alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson.
Nexstar and Sinclair each announced they would preempt Kimmel’s show on their ABC affiliates and would replace it with other programming over his remarks about Robinson. Sinclair is also set to air a one-hour tribute to Kirk on Friday across all of its ABC-affiliated TV stations in the time slot typically used for Kimmel’s show.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video addressing rumors that his country was responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk last week in Utah, calling it a “monstrous big lie” as he also argued that the slain conservative activist “loved Israel.”
“Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, said that the bigger the lie, the faster it will spread,” Netanyahu said in the clip. “Well, somebody has fabricated a monstrous big lie that Israel had something to do with Charlie Kirk’s horrific murder. This is insane. It is false. It is outrageous.”
“Charlie Kirk was a giant, a once-in-a-century talent who defended freedom, defended America, defended our common Judeo-Christian civilization,” he continued. “Charlie loved Israel. He loved the Jewish people. He told me so in a letter that he sent me just a few months ago.”
“‘One of my greatest joys as a Christian,’ he said, ‘is advocating for Israel and forming alliances with Jews to protect Judeo-Christian civilization,'” the prime minister added. “He encouraged me to make the case directly to the American people about how vital Israel is to U.S. national security. He told me, ‘the Holy Land is so important to my life, it pains me to see support for Israel slip away.'”
Netanyahu said if Kirk disagreed sometimes with his policies or decisions, he “welcomed it.”
“This is the essence of Charlie. This is the essence of a free country. It’s exactly what Charlie stood for. And I knew that his suggestions always came from the heart, from his love for Israel and from his love for the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said.
“A few weeks before his death, I spoke to Charlie. I invited him to visit Israel again. And sadly, that won’t happen. Now, some are peddling these disgusting rumors, perhaps out of obsession, perhaps with Qatari funding. What I do know is this, Charlie Kirk was a great man, and a great man deserves honor, not lies. Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk. May your memory be a blessing,” he continued.
Erika Kirk, the wife of murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk, spoke about her late husband’s love for sports and how the pair bonded over how he believed NBA legend Michael Jordan was the Greatest Of All Time.
She also shared a photo of her husband that she said was his “Jordan photo.” She said it was one of the last pictures taken of him alive.
“You loved witnessing excellence,” Erika Kirk wrote on Instagram. “It’s why you loved sports so much. You loved watching the best of the best perform at the level of greatness God intended for them.”
“When we first started dating, we went to the basketball court to shoot around. I loved seeing you in that element because time was irrelevant. It was just us, the sound of sneakers squeaking and jump shots. We bonded over how Jordan was the GOAT and you told me about your basketball days in high school and I told you about my basketball days in college. Just two athletes escaping the demands of the world for a minute,” she continued.
She also recalled a red bracelet on his wrist that he never removed.
“You never took it off, it said ‘work harder, be better.’ And everyday you did just that. Years later, one day after an event on campus a student asked you about your bracelet, and you gave it to them. I have no idea who that student was or where they are today, but I have no doubt they’re working harder and being better, because you set the tone,” she said.
Erika Kirk said the photo she shared “is one of the last photos taken of you before you were murdered.”
“I look at it and can’t help but see excellence,” she said. “You’re in your element. You’re in athlete mode. Training for this exact moment, mind, body, and soul. To me, this is your “Jordan” photo. Permanently etched in time, held in my heart, as I admire your greatness. Forever.”
“I pray you’ve had the most amazing week in Heaven @charliekirk1776 I love you,” she concluded.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy argued that Disney pulling ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” amid pressure from the Trump administration is not an example of cancel culture, which he describes as bringing up old social media posts in an attempt to have someone fired.
“With Kimmel getting canned I’m seeing lots of people talking about the hypocrisy of cancel culture,” Portnoy said on X. “To me Cancel culture is when people go out of their way to dig up old tweets, videos etc looking for dirt on somebody they don’t like in an effort to get them fired.”
“Like if Kimmel got canceled for s–t he did on the Man Show that would be cancel culture,” he continued. “But when a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it that’s not cancel culture. That is consequences for your actions.”
The Federal Communications Commission successfully pressured broadcasters to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s show following comments he made about alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on Monday.
Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, some colleges are addressing concerns about campus events and the safety of public speakers.
In a Friday post on X, Inez Feltscher Stepman, a senior policy and legal analyst for Independent Women’s Forum and Independent Women’s Law Center, said Kirk’s death could result in fewer events for conservatives on college campuses.
“This assassination will accomplish what the left has tried to do for so long: significantly shut down conservative speech on college campuses,” Stepman wrote.
“Not because of a lack of bravery, but because of logistics,” she added. “No more outdoor events, no more events without very serious security. And that costs big money that most orgs don’t have, and universities are only too happy to say they can’t manage. Already they were using ‘security’ concerns to punish [right-wing] orgs and prevent them from hosting speakers. Now there’s a real reason. The Assassin’s Veto.”
For example, University of Florida’s director of public affairs Cynthia Roldán Hernández told Fox News Digital that the school would not share security plans due to ensuring safety and security.
“However: As a world-class research institution, the University of Florida has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to free speech and civil discourse,” Roldán Hernández said. “UF will continue to ensure that individuals are able to express their ideas, free from bullying, violence, or any other type of disruptive behavior.”
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice.