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FCC chairman Brendan Carr has commented on Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension from ABC. On the Thursday, September 18, episode of CNBC’s Squawk Box, the Federal Communications Commission’s chairman stated that Jimmy Kimmel’s statement about the late Charlie Kirk was not about making a joke but intentionally misleading people and giving wrong information.
“The issue that arose here, where lots and lots of people were upset, was not a joke. It was not making fun... It was appearing to directly mislead the American public about a significant fact that probably one of the most significant political events we’ve had in a long time, for the most significant political assassination we’ve seen in a long time.”
Brendan Carr added that the FCC's goal is to ensure that every broadcast serves the public interest, and any program that goes against it will face the consequences.
“Our goal and our obligation here is to make sure that broadcasters are serving the public interest. And if there’s local TV stations that don’t think that running that programming does it, then they have every right under the law in their contracts to preempt it. And we’ll see how this plays out.”
And it appears the FCC has not yet concluded its disciplinary action, as Brendan Carr cautions that the commission still needs to take additional steps.
“And I would simply say we’re not done yet with seeing the consequences of that.”
More details on Jimmy Kimmel’s statement and Brendan Carr’s reaction
During his Monday, September 15, 2025, monologue, Jimmy Kimmel made a commentary about the death of political activist Charlie Kirk, who was murdered on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University. He was 31 years old. According to Jimmy, the suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump republican, and some people are actively trying to present him as anything other than that.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA Gang (is) 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.”
He alleged that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who claimed Charlie Kirk as a friend, was mourning him like he lost a “goldfish.”
“In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism. But on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this,” he added. “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?”
Following this commentary, Brendan Carr warned that the FCC would take action against Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and Disney. He described Kimmel’s actions as the “sickest conduct possible.”
“You know, when you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel, it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible.”
Brendan Carr added:
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
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