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By Robert Birsel and Shane Croucher
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Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker highlighted past comments made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticizing government censorship, after Jimmy Kimmel's show was suspended over remarks he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Newsweek contacted the FCC by email after office hours to seek comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump and the Republicans were critical of the previous Biden administration's pressure on media companies, including social media platforms, to censor speech it regarded as misinformation or hateful against marginalized groups of people.
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They came to power vowing to restore the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech that they said had been curtailed by the Biden administration.
The suspension of Kimmel's show has the potential to become a major test of the First Amendment under the Trump Administration if anyone were to take it up in the courts.
What to Know
Pritzker, with the eyes emoji, shared on X a 2023 post by Carr in which the now-FCC chair had said: "Free speech is the counterweight—it is the check on government control. That is why censorship is the authoritarian's dream."
The controversy centers on remarks Kimmel made in a recent monologue after Kirk's death about MAGA and 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the killing.
"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.
MAGA activists interpreted the comment as an accusation that Robinson was from their pro-Trump movement.
But the evidence made public by investigators strongly suggests Robinson held a leftist ideology and a related hatred of Kirk, and he had a trans partner, though prosecutors have yet to definitively confirm a motive.
Carr, whose FCC regulates the networks, piled pressure on broadcasters when he openly criticized Kimmel for the comments and said on right-wing influencer Benny Johnson's podcast that licensed local stations taking the content need to "step up" against "this garbage."
The Nexstar Media Group, citing Kimmel's comments, said it would stop airing his show on its 32 ABC affiliates.
ABC subsequently pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Carr later thanked Nexstar in a post on X "for doing the right thing."
Another major owner of ABC affiliate stations, Sinclair, said it had earlier told ABC it would run a Kirk memorial instead of Kimmel's show.
In the aftermath of the Kimmel suspension, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom had also highlighted Trump's words on free speech from April.
"This aged well," Newsom posted to X, along with a clip of Trump saying: "I banned all government censorship and restored free speech in America. We have free speech. We didn't have free speech."
What People Are Saying
Newsom said on X Wednesday: "Buying and controlling media platforms. Firing commentators. Canceling shows. These aren't coincidences. It's coordinated. And it's dangerous. The @GOP does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time."
Carr, in post on X on Wednesday, referring to the Nexstar decision to stop airing Kimmel's show, said: "Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values. I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar's lead."
What Happens Next
ABC's suspension is open-ended; the network and its affiliates may negotiate the next steps internally. Kimmel has yet to make a public comment on the suspension of his show.
Update 9/18/2025, 03:24 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to include more information.
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