Should Jimmy Kimmel be fired?

In an era where every political statement seems to spark outrage, the fallout from Jimmy Kimmel’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s murder has reignited one of America’s oldest questions: how far should government influence extend into the realm of free expression?

Who was Charlie Kirk?

Charlie Kirk was a political activist who aligned with conservative ideas and strongly supported President Trump’s political movement, Make American Great Again (MAGA). He held a notable presence on social media, with 14 million followers on Instagram and 9.6 million followers on Tiktok, as well as hosting a successful podcast called The Charlie Kirk Show. Kirk was most famously known for co-founding Turning Point USA, which was an organization devoted to spreading right-wing ideas on college campuses around the United States. With this organization, Kirk traveled to many campuses and encouraged students to debate his conservative and Christian viewpoints. During one of these debates on September 10th at Utah Valley University, a public university in Orem, Utah, Kirk was shot on stage and later died from his injuries. His death received a lot of media attention, sparking discussion across the country about his controversial legacy. 

How did Jimmy Kimmel become involved?

The night after Kirk’s murder, Jimmy Kimmel, the host of the late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC, opened his show with a few comments about Kirk. He described the murder as “senseless,” condemning the people who were celebrating his death, and went on to praise Mrs. Kirk for her forgiveness towards the shooter. However, Kimmel’s remarks that gained a lot of attention were pointed towards President Trump and his reaction to Kirk’s murder. Kimmel criticized President Trump for his media statements that blamed Democratic rhetoric for Kirk’s death and contrasted his divisiveness in a time of political conflict to the attempts of former presidents to bring parties together in times of disarray. Kimmel also pointed out the insensitivity of President Trump’s reaction of showing off the ballroom construction in the White House when asked about his grief. 

Kimmel faced a lot of backlash for his remarks. Nexstar Media Group, the largest local news station in the country, announced that it would remove Kimmel’s show from its ABC-affiliated stations, and the Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Brendan Carr, threatened ABC and indicated that the FCC would punish stations if they did not appropriately address the comments made by Kimmel and take action to remove his platform. These threats, along with backlash from some viewers, led ABC to ultimately suspend Kimmel’s program. Six days later, when ABC reinstated the channel due to viewer protests of unconstitutionality, Donald Trump threatened ABC again in a post on Truth Social, insinuating that he planned to sue ABC and that he was in disbelief that Kimmel’s platform had been reinstated.

Were the threats from the federal government constitutional?

Kimmel’s removal from ABC sparked a controversy about the protection of free speech by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, an integral right in American civil society that has been upheld in multiple Supreme Court cases. For example, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall stated in the case of Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley (1972) that ​​“Above all else, the First Amendment means that the government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content.” Additionally, President Trump reaffirmed his commitment to these ideals with a presidential action on January 20, 2025, stating, “It is the policy of the United States to … ensure that no Federal Government officer, employee, or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.” Given that he issued this directive, President Trump's subsequent efforts to pressure ABC into silencing Kimmel's speech seems especially ironic. 

Kimmel did not attempt to defame President Trump, he merely commented on public remarks that President Trump made. Therefore, Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s murder and President Trump’s response are constitutionally protected under the First Amendment and any governmental efforts to suppress or punish his speech is an impermissible violation of free expression. 

ABC is a private network with editorial discretion, but the situation becomes problematic when governmental figures attempt to pressure or coerce their decisions. Government overreach into private media platforms can threaten free expression, especially surrounding the criticism of public officials. If the government is able to retain influence on what is produced from private media channels, a major outlet of political discourse and dissension of ideas is removed. 

Image Source: AP Photo/ Euro News