Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani canceled a scheduled town hall with WABC over its parent company’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night show.
ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Sept. 17 following Kimmel’s on-air comments that the “MAGA gang” has described Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer as “anything other than one of them.” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr weighed in on Kimmel’s comments before his show’s suspension, saying, “I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this.”
The fallout from the suspension has ignited a debate over free speech and where the FCC can exert rhetorical influence.
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“I am withdrawing not as an indictment of the local affiliate or the hardworking journalists, but rather in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press,” Mamdani said at a campaign event on Monday. He first broke the news of the cancellation to amNewYork ahead of the Monday event.
Mamdani, a socialist in the New York State Assembly, is the Democratic nominee and front-runner in the 2025 New York City mayoral race. Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani, and democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams are running as independents. The Republican Party nominee is Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani said he thinks Kimmel’s suspension sends a message that “the First Amendment is no longer a right that can be counted on.”
“I will use my power as the mayor to fight those who seek to divide us, those who seek to abuse their power, those who seek to take away our freedom,” Mamdani said. “Because it is not the government’s job to bully talk show hosts off of the air. It is not the government’s job to tell us what we can and cannot talk about.”