The surprise move of ABC to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show off the air garnered many reactions, including one from former President Barack Obama.
What did Barack Obama say about Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension?
Taking to social media, Obama criticized the decision and said the current administration was taking things to a “dangerous level” by constantly threatening media companies for going against things they deem bad.
“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.
Alongside the post, Obama also shared a Vox opinion article that calls the suspension one of Trump’s most “brazen attacks on free speech yet.”
On Wednesday night, ABC halted production on Jimmy Kimmel Live after the FCC openly threatened to take action against the network and its license following Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. During his last show as of now, Kimmel commented on the potential political leanings of Kirk’s killer as well as how the MAGA movement was reacting to it.
“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,” said Kimmel during his monologue.
So far, Kimmel’s show is considered on indefinite pause. Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns ABC affiliate stations alongside Nexstar, has said that in lieu of Kimmel’s upcoming Friday show, ABC will air a special memorial service to Kirk. The company also demanded that Kimmel apologize for the comments and make a “meaningful personal donation” to Kirk’s family, as well as Turning Point USA.
