Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said on Sunday that the federal government’s role in getting late night host Jimmy Kimmel pulled off the air was “extremely dangerous” to the principle of free speech in America.
NBC News’s Kristen Welker asked Shapiro on “Meet the Press” for his response to Kimmel’s suspension by ABC, which was spurred by threats from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr.
“Fear. Just worry for our country. Our foundational principle in this country, which has roots in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — William Penn settled here in the 1680s — is about freedom of expression, freedom of speech. And to see that being undermined by the long arm of the federal government is extremely dangerous,” Shapiro responded.
“Again, whether you agree with Jimmy Kimmel or not, whether you found him funny or not, to fire someone because he told a joke about the president repeatedly and the president didn’t like it, to fire him because he was inartful in his words in the wake of the killing of Charlie Kirk, when you have others in the media, and I mean this as no disrespect, who are inartful every day, right?” he added. “That is dangerous, when we are selectively firing people because of their viewpoints.”
Kimmel’s colleagues in late-night came together last week to defend the comedian, who garnered a rebuke from Carr for his comments on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“We have another fun, hilarious administration-compliant show,” “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart joked during a special edition of the show Thursday.
“Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel,” CBS’s Stephen Colbert said at the beginning of one of his shows last week.
Following Kirk’s shooting, there have been intense debates about his legacy and the limits of free speech.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) said Carr’s threat to take action against ABC sounded like something “right out of Goodfellas,” the classic mob movie, and “dangerous as hell.”
“Jimmy Kimmel has mocked me so many times I cannot count. The corporate media, they’re dishonest, they are liars. I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said. I am thrilled that he was fired,” Cruz said on his podcast “Verdict.”
But he warned that Carr’s statement that the FCC could look at “remedies” to pursue if ABC didn’t take action in response to Kimmel’s implication that Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer was a member of the “MAGA gang” was a bad idea.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said on Sunday he does not share Cruz’s concern during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” arguing ABC executives ultimately made the decision they thought was in their interests.
“If it doesn’t align with a private business, then they have the right to remove them if it doesn’t fit with their brand. It’s that simple,” Mullin said.
The Hill has reached out to Disney and the White House for comment.
