![Brooke Pedersen [second from the right] and Luis Reyes [right] hold banners during the Wrap The Woods event.](https://thebluebanner.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ELIZABETH_PRITCHITT_IMG_3470-1200x804.jpg)
One beauty about the United States is our protected freedom of speech; however, are we truly that free when even the biggest names in the TV industry can be taken off air?
The news of the “Jimmy Kimmel Show!” being suspended following comments from Jimmy Kimmel about President Trump and his supporters’ reactions to the death of Charlie Kirk kind of surprised me. Especially considering Trump and many conservatives often preach free speech.
When the Federal Communications Commission’s chairman, Brendan Carr, went on a talk show and threatened regulatory actions against ABC and any affiliated stations if Kimmel was not reprimanded, it raised many red flags for me.
While Carr, Trump and conservatives disagreed with Kimmel, is it fair for the FCC to threaten regulatory action against someone, liberal or not, because they do not like what they hear? I think not.
This raised a lot of questions regarding the protection of the First Amendment and I was so thankful to hear that Kimmel’s show was brought back despite its indefinite suspension.
You know it is a bad look for Trump when other conservatives back up Kimmel after he celebrated Kimmel’s show being suspended and believes they should be cracking down on those who speak out against him.
One name that particularly stuck out to me was Ted Cruz, the Texan senator who is very conservative. When he spoke up after the announcement of Kimmel’s show being suspended, for once in my life, I agreed with him: this is America and you can still speak on your beliefs without the threat of the government interfering.
It is no longer a conservative versus liberal issue when even conservatives can see the issue with silencing the people. If Ted Cruz can see this, I highly urge you to open your eyes and your mind.
We should be scared if a big name like Kimmel can be silenced. What does that mean for the rest of us? The FCC should not be interfering with our protected rights but here we are, a time when they are.
Luckily, they faced an immense amount of backlash (and still are!) and brought back Kimmel. Despite that, nearly 20 percent of ABC stations would not air Kimmel’s return (and his show in general) thanks to Nexstar and Sinclair broadcasters, while they discussed with the ABC parent company, Walt Disney Co., the future of Kimmel’s show.
Trump has deliberately ignored certain outlets after they told him who they work for or if they have a certain accent. These attacks on media outlets included barring AP News from certain news rooms.
Stephen Colbert’s late night show was announced to finish in 2026, with financial reasons stated from Paramount Global, shortly after a settlement between Trump and the media company. Trump remarked that Kimmel was next after the announcement.
That seems incredibly targeted toward left-winged media, especially considering during his 2025 inauguration speech, he promised to “sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.”
What happened to stopping government censorship when he allowed the FCC to threaten ABC and Disney if they did not do something about Kimmel and his remarks?
Is it only free speech if the speaker is a right-winged republican? How can we as a society bring back free speech if one of the biggest names on TV was suspended over remarks that Trump and the FCC disagreed with?
What happens to the people if we bring up concerns about other rights (or wrongs) or simply make a comment that the people in power disagree with?
As a journalist, I am all for free speech, but that does not mean I agree with everything people are saying out there. As long as the harm is minimal, people should not care about what other people think.
Big names have been shut down for their views on Kirk’s death, while Trump can go on live television, butcher the name of acetaminophen and give false medical advice while still being allowed on TV? That does not sit right with me and it should not sit right with you.
We don’t want influential people giving huge speeches with fake news or false advice, but somehow that was allowed and Kimmel couldn’t comment on a very popular event on his talk show?
The hypocrisy from this current administration must be called out; your rights are at stake. If you can’t see the issue with someone being silenced, just wait until it’s one of your rights being threatened.
America is the land of the free, but how can we be free with our voices being taken?
