In mid-July, the American network CBS shook the television and entertainment world by unexpectedly announcing the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the most-watched late-night show, ending a show that had been on air for over three decades. The reasons given were "purely financial," but within the industry, it was clear that eliminating the program was the price to pay to reach an agreement with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, whose administration had veto power over a multi-billion dollar merger. They had already paid him 15 million to settle a lawsuit against another star presenter, George Stephanopoulos.
The president was a frequent target of Colbert's mockery and never hid his disdain. That's why Trump posted a message on his social media celebrating the news and warning: "I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next." Three days later, he insisted: "It is said, and said loudly, that Jimmy Kimmel will be the NEXT to go. And shortly after, [Jimmy] Fallon will also go," he anticipated.
Less than two months later, ABC, owned by Disney, has indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!, another flagship late-night show, citing the controversy generated in the last 48 hours by a monologue from the comedian last Monday. "Good news for the United States: Jimmy Kimmel's show, with its low ratings, has been canceled. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what needed to be done.Kimmel has not an ounce of talent and has worse ratings than even Colbert, if possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two complete losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also terrible. Do it, NBC!" immediately celebrated the Republican leader from London in the early hours, pointing out who should be the next to be fired.
In the controversial monologue, Kimmel, who has been hosting the show for 22 years from his Los Angeles studios, criticized the Make America Great Again movement, saying that over the weekend "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".
Later, he mocked President Trump, a personal friend of the conservative activist murdered last week. He did so by recalling a video from last Friday at the White House, where Trump was asked how he personally felt after the attack on Kirk. The president, perhaps because he didn't hear the whole question well, wanted to change the subject, or for any other reason, responded by talking about the renovations in the White House gardens. And that's where Kimmel chimed in: "Yes, he's at the fourth stage of grief: construction. Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend; this is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?" he added.
ABC has not yet clarified what will happen, whether the suspension is immediate or irrevocable. Whether a clarification or an apology from the comedian, as suggested by other affiliated local stations, could be sufficient.
The words about Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer of Kirk, have been replayed since Monday over and over in the most pro-president media. Although in them the comedian did not address the attack itself, did not mention Kirk at any point, nor trivialized the crime, they have sparked a huge storm. Many have interpreted the message as an attempt to suggest that perhaps the killer was part of the MAGA movement, perhaps because he came from a religious and conservative family. The killer himself, Robinson, described his father as "MAGA to death." But many others only see in that part of the monologue a criticism of the movement led by the Trump family for trying to politically capitalize on the attack, for example, to restrict freedom of speech, as suggested by the attorney general, Pam Bonbi, and others, pursuing "hate crimes." Something that Kirk vehemently opposed.
The network's decision comes after two consecutive events. The first, direct threats from the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the audiovisual regulator. In an interview today on a well-known right-wing commentator's podcast, FCC President Brendan Carr threatened immediate action against Kimmel, ABC, and Disney "for deliberately deceiving the public by claiming that Charlie Kirk's killer was a MAGA conservative." Carr called it "malicious lies" and "truly sickening." The regulator, a man of total trust of Trump, insisted that it was "a very serious problem for Disney" and warned: "we can do it the easy way or the hard way," pointing to the broadcasting license granted by the FCC itself.
Carr, echoing adjective by adjective the president's rhetoric, had insulted and belittled Kimmel, saying, for example, that "he was overrated" and "had no talent." Just as in July, he had lashed out at "The View," one of ABC's own programs, saying it was "now in the sights of this administration" due to the harsh criticisms of its co-host Joy Behar towards President Trump.
The second act of the day came from Nexstar, the media group with the most TV licenses in the United States, with nearly 200 local stations. Hours before ABC made its statement, amid enormous pressure, Nexstar had announced that it would pull the late show from all its affiliates' schedules. "Mr. Kimmel's comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located," said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division.
Hours later, ABC delivered the final blow. "This administration is increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression," lamented Anna Gomez, the only Democratic commissioner of the FCC, stating that "an inexcusable act of political violence by a disturbed individual should never be exploited as justification for broader censorship and control (...) Giving up our right to speak freely is accepting that those in power, not the people, will set the boundaries of the debate that define a free society," Gomez added.
In mid-August, Nexstar Media Group announced the agreement to acquire its broadcasting rival, Tegna, for 6.2 billion dollars, "thus merging two major players in American television and the local news landscape of the country." But for this, it needs the FCC, the regulator, to approve the operation. The Trump administration advocates for the relaxation of sector restrictions, and recently, Nexstar's CEO, Perry Sook, said that the president's policy "offers local broadcasters the opportunity to expand their reach, level the playing field, and compete more effectively with big tech and major media companies, which have unlimited reach and vast financial resources."
A case that closely resembles the one that led to the cancellation of Colbert's program mentioned earlier on CBS. Paramount, the network's parent company, is trying to close a multi-billion dollar merger with the film studio Skydance, an agreement that requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, appointed by the White House.
And all framed in the middle of a battle for control of the media that encompasses the rest of the networks and some newspapers. And even TikTok. If the operation backed by the White House goes through, Larry Ellison, currently the richest man in the world and a friend of the president. And his son David, will own Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery, and the U.S. part of TikTok US. And as part of the move, CBS would also buy The Free Press, a digital media outlet created a few years ago by journalist Bari Weiss after her noisy departure from The New York Times. Something that would not only give Weiss more than 100 million dollars but perhaps a position as the number two at the network, in a moment of ideological shift. Of the five national television networks in the US, only one so far was clearly pro-Trump, Fox.