Jimmy Kimmel’s recent defense that his remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk were “intentionally and maliciously mischaracterized” is as tone-deaf as it is predictable. Speaking at a Bloomberg conference, Kimmel insisted right-wing outlets had distorted his monologue and expressed surprise that his words sparked a national backlash. The self-proclaimed outrage victim tried to frame himself as the injured party while refusing to own the damage his false accusation caused.
The fallout was immediate and deserved: ABC parent Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air after pressure from affiliates and even a warning from FCC Chair Brendan Carr about potential consequences for stations that ignored the uproar. Local broadcasters rightly balked at being forced to carry one man’s political theater on the public airwaves, and networks have every obligation to protect viewers from reckless, incendiary commentary. This wasn’t cancel culture at work so much as broadcast standards functioning as intended when a host crosses the line into libelous insinuation.
Worse was Kimmel’s performance upon returning: more crocodile tears and a self-pitying refrain instead of a straight apology to a grieving family and the millions he smeared. He told audiences he “didn’t think it was a big problem” and framed his absence as a time for reflection, all while stopping short of correcting the record or taking real responsibility. That posture isn’t humility — it’s privilege: a celebrity assuming sympathy while ordinary Americans pay the price for his reckless rhetoric.
Conservatives and independents who have long watched the media weaponize grief were vindicated by how quickly Kimmel doubled down and how nervy the establishment was to protect him. The outrage was not a manufactured pile-on but a response to a man who tried to smear an entire political movement without evidence, then blamed his critics for calling him out. If the networks and FCC are to be criticized, it should be for their unevenness — but in this case affiliates did the right thing by holding ABC accountable rather than letting one liberal comedian use taxpayer-leased airwaves to peddle partisan lies.
Voices like Walter Kirn, who pointed out that Kimmel’s act was simply bad showbiz and not deserving of sanctimony, hit the nail on the head. Kirn noted that Kimmel’s routine wasn’t funny, it was false, and that broadcasters leasing the public spectrum have a duty to the public good — not to a performer’s political stunts. That’s common sense: you don’t get to weaponize a crowd and then cry censorship when the crowd pushes back.
Don’t expect Kimmel’s grip on influence to be permanent; Americans remember when a host repeatedly attacks their neighbors and refuses to make amends. Industry insiders and conservative commentators alike are already predicting a decline in clout for the show and a reckoning at ABC as advertisers and affiliates reassess the risk of hosting partisan, reckless programming. The marketplace of viewers and sponsors has a way of sorting out who deserves the pedestal.
Patriots can and should defend free speech, but speech comes with responsibility — especially when it’s broadcast over the public airwaves. Kimmel’s case is a reminder that fame doesn’t grant immunity from the consequences of lying about who committed a violent act, and that Americans will hold media figures to account when they abuse their platform. If networks won’t police themselves, then affiliates, advertisers, and voters will — and that is exactly how a free and moral society should work.
