Washington Examiner Senior Writer Joe Concha said it was the ABC affiliates and Jimmy Kimmel’s own words, not the Federal Communications Commission, that influenced the late-night host’s firing.
“In the end, the FCC had nothing to do with this; it was the affiliates and Jimmy Kimmel’s own words and his responsibility that this happened,” Concha said. “No one else’s [fault]. He is not the victim.”
Concha elaborated on this point, saying Matthew Dowd, the MSNBC contributor whose comments on the network in the wake of the Charlie Kirk shooting led to his firing, and Tyler Robinson, the alleged Kirk shooter, are not the victims.
“They’re not the victims. Charlie Kirk is the victim, and we’re not going to lose sight of that despite all of these distractions,” Concha said.
In Monday night’s broadcast, Kimmel suggested that the shooter was part of the “MAGA movement” and that Republicans were using Kirk’s death to score political points.
Nextstar announced on Wednesday that its affiliated ABC stations would no longer broadcast Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following Kimmel’s comments. ABC, which The Walt Disney Corporation owns, announced shortly after that it would be pulling Kimmel indefinitely.
Nexstar said in its statement that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk.”
Hollywood and other media figures spoke out following ABC’s announcement, arguing that the decision was an attempt to silence Kimmel and prevent free speech due to the forthcoming Nexstar merger.
WHO IS FCC CHAIRMAN BRENDAN CARR, THE MAN AT THE CENTER OF THE KIMMEL SUSPENSION CONTROVERSY?
Nexstar is currently seeking approval from the FCC for a multibillion-dollar merger with Tegna. ABC announced its decision hours after FCC Brendan Carr threatened to revoke the network’s affiliate licenses if Kimmel was not reprimanded.
Concha said Kimmel was fired “based on the numbers.” “Numbers only, not giving my opinion [and] not getting emotional. Sixty-two affiliates of ABC said they did not want to carry Jimmy Kimmel Live! anymore,” Concha said. “You see all these other people on MSNBC and CNN living in this fantasy world that says, ‘oh well, that should be OK, keep Jimmy on the air more so we can lose more money for our network.’”