Its funny, in all of the reporting and acrimony and spleen-venting about this topic, nobody seems to have brought up that Jimmy Kimmel was supposed to be doing a COMEDY show. That just gets lost in the shuffle because he has been so utterly removed from comedy for years if not decades...
Smugly insulting strawmen caricatures of "Nazis" and "racists" gets laughs by letting Kimmel's audience feel superior to those they get to vicariously bully.
It's not a two-minute hate, it's 44 minutes of hate and 16 valuable minutes of advertising for anti-depressants and prescription obesity medicines.
So much of the Left is petty mean girls and beta boys virtue-signaling about how much kinder, smarter, and more sophisticated they are than those they point and laugh at.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought the same thing - we NEVER actually graduate high school. Or maybe it’s just that some of us don’t mature beyond all the superficiality and pettiness.
"[Since 2020, the Summer of Floyd, and during peak leftist cancel culture] those of us on the Left who reluctantly voiced opposition to this behaviour—on the basis that it contradicted every principle the Left had stood for our entire lives, namely belief in freedom of speech, science, the pursuit of truth, skepticism of big pharma, opposition to racial discrimination, free and fair elections and so on—were told that we were not, in fact, on the Left. On the contrary, we were now 'right wing' and eventually even 'far right.'"
I am still amazed by this massive transmogrification. Maybe those people who predicted a "shifting of the north and south poles," a sort of World Flip-Out, were misinterpreting this message from the future. I place the blame for this squarely on the universities, whose "tenured radicals" tinkered with the Frankfurt School's evil reworking of Marxism after its Galaxy Brains saw that the Proletariat digs Capitalism. Critical theory escaped their seminar rooms and infected politics and the culture in general, like some sort of intellectual Covid.
I just hope, as Collard does, that the Trump administration backs off and lets shit like Kimmel's die a natural death along with broadcast news.
I wonder if anyone out there can answer this question that's been bugging me for a while:
Do the FCC guidelines for fairness and the "equal time doctrine" for politicians campaigning on TV and radio apply to cable and satellite transmissions? What exactly are "the airwaves"?
I agree that it would have been a smarter move in the short and long term to have let the Kimmel’s show die out, but his outrageous comments could not go without protest. Whether the action ABC/Disney took was due to pressure from the FCC and Trump, ultimately Kimmel reaped the consequences his choices.
I also suspect that Kimmel read the writing the wall and figuring his contract wouldn’t be renewed, chose to burn his house down before it was taken from him.
The fans of Jimmy Kimmel remind me of little spoiled brats that have always gotten everything they wanted. Now they can’t understand why the majority of Americans are tired of their BS.
I look at the whole saga as being more than that. The WOKE have fallen into the Id-world.
But a person would need to go back and read Freud's concept of Id/Ego/Superego here. I am probably the only one who is going to do that.
I throw out the "sounds like high school " comments not only because it does sound like high school, but because most readers here are not going to look beyond that.
kimmel doesn’t get laughs. the laughter on his show has been pre-recorded for years.
there used to be lots of video of his audiences, show after show, sitting just stone-faced while the “laugh now” lights were flashing and the laughter sound track was playing.
oooh I wonder if we can find that on the Wayback machine. That would be hilarious to post and it would shut up all the Demwits who probably never watched his show even once...
Way back when the audience was seriously into the show. It was also so sought after to be a guest that the green room routinely had actors show up who weren't booked; they got drunk and goofed around. Boy has Kimmel slid into the depths.
Assuming a fair amount of the audience is from southern CA and not just a bunch of tourists (this was how it was at least for several years at the beginning of Kimmel's rise on late night) his audience has zero understanding of how the rest of the country looks and thinks outside of the lefty bubbles in northeastern cities and suburbs. LA is a one trick town and the execrable public schools there along with the preening attitude of my fellow film business denizens means that there is a dearth of intellectual curiosity in Tinsel Town. It's largely devoid of anything resembling a cogent conversation on much of anything outside of whether or not James Gunn ruined the Superman franchise, where the Chili Peppers are playing when their next tour starts, and how cool the loft apartments are in NY. LA was plasticky in the 20th century but there were some solid thinkers amongst the gliteratti; that seems long ago now.
Not all of us in SoCal are in bubbles. I'm a Christian, ex-public school teacher, and 25-year veteran homeschooler (my eldest child went to MIT and managed to escape reasonably unscathed), and I understand how some of the rest of the country lives, having family connections to conservative parts of AZ, WI, and IL. I like the people here, but the politics are choking many right out of the state; people vote against their best interests. It's mystifying and distressing.
The Greg Gutfeld show is pretty mean, too. Perhaps what makes people laugh is evolving or just re-calibrating back to the schadenfreude of seeing someone else being publicly stoned, a classic entertainment throughout history?
Haven’t seen the red eye show but I can’t watch him anymore. His interrupting, scolding, increasingly crude comments are rude and unhelpful lately. His “elevation” to the 10 o’clock hour has gone to his head and it is no longer worth the time.
Oh, ok. "But Greg really is funny." I happen to think Kimmel's take downs of DJT are funny. And Gutfeld uses the public airwaves. Shouldn't he be accused of the same 'crime' as Kimmel?
Fox operates over publicly licensed airwaves as an FCC-licensed, over-the-air television network, distinguishing it from cable channels like Fox News Channel. Its programming is accessible on local affiliate stations throughout the country, just like other broadcast networks.
Correct. The voices on broadcast media on the right -- Gutfeld, Watters, Hannity -- are no different in their form or function than Kimmel and Colbert. They all use the public airwaves. They are all paid by their networks. They're audiences tune in to hear them. So, why is Kimmel being silenced and not Hannity or Gutfeld? Because Trump can; that's why. Those guys on the right better hope they retire before the pendulum swings back.
Thank You! These programs are straight up propaganda. 44 minute commercials of how clever it is to be owned by the Democratic Party dogma and how "others" who don't sign on are idiots who have no intellectual value and must be controlled for their own good. "The propagandists purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human."-Aldous Huxley
I have not found him to be funny particularly since:Covid. I wasn’t really aware of him much before that, except for the Man Show and did not like that show at all after a few attempts. At the same time, Carolla is still someone who I find interesting and intelligent. That he or Kimmel did the Man Show is not the problem. Jimmy has turned into a hateful, bitter leftist, anti-American. Carolla stuck to his roots,. He’d been a hard working, blue collar construction worker. That influenced his values. And still do.
Yeah. Jimmy is pure mediocrity, raised to a high position by fervently kissing the backsides of those in power... That happens a lot, in a lot of industries.
I had hadn't even known just how awful Kimmel was until Matt brought it up. Probably because I quit watching his show less than a minute into the first one I saw. What a tool.
He obviously did not have the comedic skills. Carson et al could make the audience laugh when he/they admitted their opening monologue was crashing. Kimmel seemed to just deliver a spiel and the trained seals clapped and whooped.
That is very true. However, late night television has traditionally been a place for light comedy and fluff interviews with celebrities with a new movie or book. If he wanted to go all political, that is his right. He just doesn't have the right to do it on television.
In another point, I saw someone say today that he will probably be on YouTube soon. Then, I'm not sure how you can say that his freedom of speech has been restricted. No one stopping his speech.
I think Kimmel is casting himself as a martyr which is very unattractive. He’s mean and not even intelligent. His take on Covid was all about obedience, no questions asked. I have never known that stance to produce great comedy. Taibbi may be right about the cancellation being bad optics, probably could have been handled a bit better, but as far as I know public airwaves have always had a different standard than cable.
True enough in your first paragraph, however tradition, statute law, and FCC regulation are three entirely different things.
And I hope that "you" in your final paragraph is meant generically, because I specifically have not claimed that Kimmel's free speech has been infringed in any way (because it hasn't)
Yes, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have free speech in the form of campaign donations and, of course, when it comes to content, business is business, especially, for example, when government approval of a merger is imminent.
It didn’t have anything to do with “corporations are people”. If you have a business, do you want to throw your advertising budget at a show that pisses off about half of your customers?
Corporations donate out of the goodness of their hearts and to strengthen our democracy and it has nothing to do with business, sure. And they comply with the sentiments of government officials that control their business to please advertisers? Not even close.
The viewers simply aren't part of the equation, except as an aggregate quantity to attract advertisers, who are the real customers for broadcast media.
Surely you have heard and appreciated the significance of the saying, "If you aren't paying, you aren't the customer, you are the product"?
You're not wrong. However, without actual viewers there are no advertisers. And while numbers of viewers matter, so to does type of viewer (demographic profile). But you already know that. Point is: Where is the government's role in a private exchange of value from Network to Viewer to Advertiser? For most of history, the 'conservative' position is: "there is no government role."
Sure, and we'll refer to Hannity, Gutfeld, Watters, Kilmeade et al as political activists working for the DJT's Crypto business or the Republican National Committee.
Kimmel's monologue about the MAGA gang "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it" must surely go down in history as the primo example that validates the conservative trope "if you want to know what the left is doing, listen to the accusations they make against conservatives."
It's actually quite funny, because Kimmel was desperately trying to characterize Robinson as a right-winger, and was lying about him in order to score political points -- which he JUST SAID was "the new low."
And thinking all the time that he’s the smartest guy in the room. That he thinks Robinson was right-wing reveal how shallow his understanding of the known facts of the case are, and from whom he gets his news. I daresay most leftists still think Robinson was a MAGA groupie (no such thing but ignorant leftists generalize anyone whom they don’t like as one). In fact, Robinson’s parents say his politics have changed a lot in the last few years but he is not registered in either party, and his attitudes are more aligned with the trans community than either political party narrative.
I have seen a photoshopped picture of Robinson with a pro-Trump t-shirt, along with the picture before it was altered. The alteration was presumably done by a dishonest leftist to provide evidence for leftists who want badly to believe it wasn’t another leftist shooter. Just like they did with Charlie Kirk, leftists take a quote out of context and by the time they’re done millions of leftists are reading and believing that Charlie Kirk thought gay people should be stoned to death. That false meme went around the world, and has been quoted by millions including journalists who don’t bother to check their sources. Why does the left intentionally do such things? To gain partisan advantage as if life was all a game?
Kimmel was paid to do a job using his employer’s resources and its name. If he wants to spread lies, let him do it on his own time using his own resources. Free speech doesn’t mean that somebody else has to provide you with a platform. Get a life.
I found Kimmel’s “joke” particularly galling because I frequent Reddit, and there is a substantial cohort there who still virulently assert that Robison was an extreme RW groyper, despite all evidence known by Sunday indicating he was LW (family statements, evidence he was in love with a transitioning furry). Perpetuating the lie to those who don’t get news from anywhere out of their echo chamber just stokes division and further violence.
As a practical matter, he had to know it was a lie but must have felt he could still get a laugh from his leftist audience at the expense of the right by portraying the right as desperate to show Robinson wasn’t one of them. It was a cheap shot showing how low he was willing to go, even as he accused the right falsely of “going low.” In my view it was unprofessional and he revealed himself as a sleazeball. If he worked for me I would have told him to go somewhere else to be so shallow.
I have literally never watched Jimmy Kimmel, except for clips posted on social media that ended up in my feed. I've never thought he was funny, and I always thought he was a democrat hack.
This is the main point to me. If Disney "WOKE" up and realized that what Kimmel said was wrong and decided to suspend him fine. We all know that's NOT what happened here as Disney encourages what is being said on this show.
I have a GREAT deal of issue with the FCC getting involved on Trump's word for this. Instead of mocking more idiocy around the clueless yet "highly educated" class of our society now we give them an angle to push back with.
Trump needs to back off and let the left eat their own. My greatest fear right now is the absolute opportunist that is my governor Shapiro is just one Trump admin overreach from actually taking us to Authoritarianism.
A). You have no proof FCC got involved "on Trump's word." B) There are rules about companies who are on publicly provided airwaves and Kimmel has repeatedly violated them. C) Trump is going to Trump and most of his supporters understand that and can tell the difference between a policy statement and trolling. D) The Left is just pissed because the Right has been too polite over the years to push back. Trump is an Alpha male and decided to even the playing field. His comments are far more tame and fair than the kind of bloviating Chuckles Schumer does. (Shouting at SCOTUS that they will reap the whirlwind comes to mind.) E) We suffered years of Covidiots calling for the death penalty and prison and losing one's children over daring to question BigPharma's covid death shot. They wanted all of us who have reasons to not take the shot to lose our livelihoods, our children, our lives, and more because we dared to challenge the Overlords. We already HAVE authoritarians. And they are LIBERALS. The party that wants to be America's HOA.
In some way, this whole incident reminds me of the recent funding NPR brouhaha. NPR apparently had something like 87 editors and not a single Republican. Yet felt very worthy of public funding despite extreme bias. I wonder how the Democrats would take to funding “public” radio staffed entirely by Hannitys. Predictably it was spun in the press with NPR as the victim of mean, backward conservatives.
None of this would have happened if the two largest affiliate conglomerates (NextStar and Sinclair) hadn’t declared their viewers found the content offensive, and were pulling the show.
Both parties aspire to be authoritarian and to impose their worldview on everyone. Nearly everyone excuses the party they like and touts the perfidy of the other one. A plague o' both their houses.
There's no doubt that Carr's statement was an unforced error. IMO he was attempting to "seize the moment" and bask in glory and... it was an idiot move. The problem is, in his narcissistic power grab, he managed to turn supporters into very wary skeptics. These wannabes need to STFU and leave the trolling to Trump.
Agree that it was dumb unforced error. However, it was all rhetoric and not action. Does anybody REALLY believe that woke Disney would do anything at the behest of the Trump admin?!
Like I said -- I don't watch the show, but I have seen enough clips to find him not funny at all. (I may be dating myself, but I remember the good ole days of Johnny Carson and when Steve Martin was on SNL.)
I remember when Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd were on SNL, along with Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin. Great talents, all, and able to mock politicians of all stripes. Those were the days.
Indeed. Chase making fun of President Ford's clumsiness was funny. The modern SNL train missed MANY opportunities for sheer humor with Biden. Biden damn near wrote the jokes for them. Plus Biden's cabinet members ...
It is extraordinary that in New York SNL can’t find better comedy writers these days. And the press covers the show like it is still the 1970s when it was hilarious.
So great. Remember Akroyd and Curtin doing “Point, Counterpoint.” (Was it Shana?) “You ignorant slut.” I am laughing at the memory. We live in a world of thin skin.
Because of the way they did it. It wasn't veiled hatred. You can tell when a comedian is an equal opportunity comedy writer. In the last 10 years, the Left has just been mean spirited. Bullying comedy is not funny except to bullies.
I remember those greats on SNL and few seasons later when Norm McDonald did the weekend update segment . Those bits where he trashed OJ never grow old — they were mean, but on target AND funny.
Yes, I did see the Man Show. I found it relatively sophomoric, but nonetheless it was a creative, if silly, concept. You may find his talent level mediocre, judging by your "hack" description, but I feel safe to assume he has achieved levels of success by many different standards that are substantially greater than yours.
It's a real contest between Kimmel and Colbert as to who is the most deeply deeply obnoxious and unfunny. I would probably go with Kimmel but man is it close. I do not want the FCC involved or even to exist but I really hope the pendulum starts to swing away from giving millions of dollars to unfunny assholes to preach pablum to a tiny audience night after night on netwrok tv. And for that matter for people to think its perfectly ok to punlicly call for someone's death and report to school to teach your class the next day. It has to stop.
Colbert is such a conundrum to me. He was generally funny as John Stewart's mockingly Republican sidekick. Now he's just stupid and really a **ick....
What people keep missing in the Colbert cancel decision is that it's not just his salary, but his fleet of unfunny, unknowledgeable writers that cost the network twice what they can bring in from advertising.
Yeah? You know all about the broadcast TV business model? You're outraged that a handful of 'unknowledgeable writers' (how can you tell?) cost the network 'twice what they bring in from advertising." Advertising on what?
"CBS brass say they pulled the plug on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' because of its punishing losses — pegged between $40 million and $50 million a year — and claim politics had nothing to do with it, The Post has learned," Gasparino wrote in the Post's report.
"Colbert gets no advertising and late night is a tough spot," a person with direct knowledge of CBS's decision reportedly told Gasparino. "Colbert might be No. 1, but who watches late night TV anymore?"
Another person close to the decision reportedly said, "Colbert loses $40 million to $50 million a year, so George Cheeks just decided to pull the plug." Cheeks is co-CEO of Paramount Global, and president and CEO of CBS.
Colbert himself didn't get canceled. The actual TV show got canceled. They aren't bringing in another host in 2026. The entire show will be gone. The decision makers made a financial decision, not a political one. The late night TV landscape isn't what it used to be. It's far more fractured with far more viewing choices for consumers. Not to mention that the audience that actually watches late night TV when the advertisers (the money people) want skews old (50 to 60) and female (60%).
I should have been more clear. But, people keep making this about all the politics, and while sure... Negative opinions aren't good, neither is a show that costs 4 or 5 times more to air than it brings in.
Be careful what you wish for: an unregulated RF spectrum would be a very bad thing.
But while there definitely is a scarcity of frequencies on which to broadcast for a given purpose, we now have additional ways of immediate information transfer that don't involve physical broadcast ing You can be glad that the FCC has gotten rid of things like the fairness doctrine as a result.
I am in agreement that the FCC has no need to try to regulate content for political balance, but that's not what you said. Here are your exact words: " I do not want the FCC involved OR EVEN TO EXIST [emphasis added]".
I am telling you that the FCC has plenty of justification for existence completely apart from any content regulation.
Those "three networks out of... literal hundreds" have each organized hundreds of sub-networks in the form of network affiliates, and monopolize a scarce resource known as radio bands. That's why the FCC exists. Without it, I could put up antenna in my back yard and make sure nobody is even able to watch those networks in my neighborhood, preventing their brain rot from infecting my community. Now that I think about it, maybe getting rid of the FCC would be a good idea...
There is a big difference . Networks are bound by guidelines. They have to get a license and abide by standards and practices that serve in the public interest.
CABLE TV is a different beast- they are not bound by the same rules.
True. A radio wild west would have led to massive interference and rural people not even getting radio at night. However, in 1934 the FCC gained broad powers that went beyond regulating traffic on the frequency lanes of what was then the information highway. Some of the language is downright unconstitutional.
I would agree. Greg Gutfeld dishes out major shillage. The show does have a sprinkling of good jokes by funny writers, like the Leftovers segment. In fairness, preaching to the choir takes less creativity and effort. If the audience eats it up, why not go there?
Democrats: "We make the rules. And the first rule is that we are entitled to do things that others are not. And the second rule is that we can change the rules whenever we want."
BTW, that claimed asymmetry in ethics is real, including among left wing academics. They call it critical theory.
I think Stuart Thompson made at least one accurate point. The people on the right will have to learn about late night bias via a person who tracts late night shows. That's because most people on the right have better things to do than watch Kibble & the rest of them; clipping toenails is an example of better time usage.
Disney also owns Hulu.. FCC doesn’t regulate it.. if Disney Really wanted to keep Kimmel they could push his show off ABC and on Hulu.. this could be done in a day IF they wanted to
I agree. I used to get beers with 2 guys who watched John Oliver and when they let it slip they watched Oliver, I kinda let them have it. That is cult level indoctrination and othering. It's disgusting.
Amazing! So if I'm hearing this right, conservatives weren't outraged by what Kimmel had said until they found out about it. And that makes it illegitimate. Like, if it were real organic legitimate outrage, it would have emerged naturally, without anyone needing to know about the actual incident.
Come to think of it, maybe that isn't that crazy of a thought. Because most of the progressive outrage that I hear about is over things that never actually happened. So perhaps that actually is a thing after all.
A reminder to all those leftists thinking there's an equivalent in what they did with their cancel culture over this: The key fact is that freedom of speech allows you not to be arrested, imprisoned, or possibly executed. It does not guarantee you freedom from repercussions in public forums for vile drivel you exude.
Sure, but the accusation is the repercussions were government mandated loss of work. Left or right, we should all be against that.
Kimmel sucks and negative response to his bad comedy is not a freedom of speech issue, but losing his job right after the FCC chairman goes on air and public insinuates that he was going after him for his comments about Kirk is a freedom of speech issue.
Jimmy Kibbles violated one of the fundamental tenets of the FCC in that he did not act in the public interest. The fact that he got away with it for years doesn't mean he was not in violation. Oh, and by the way, you pretty much just identified your politics.
No, it is not. Kimmel's show is carried on public airways, owned by the American public, licensed to the OVER THE AIR networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX). The license contain requirements the network must adhere to. These requirements don't apply to cable news or YouTube as they are not carried over the airways and are not regulated by the FCC.
If Trump had demanded that Morning Joe be taken off, I agree that would be 100% wrong and I'd be calling the White House.
I have this backwards, and I apologize. The FCC license is with the local on air stations, NOT the network. The license requirements sit with the local stations. Local stations affiliate with a network and agree to run that network's programming. Should a complaint arise from programming aired, it is the local station at risk of losing its broadcast license.
Hence Sinclair, a major local affiliate conglomerate, was the first to say their local networks would not rebroadcast Kimmel. Kimmel's revenue went up in smoke, the ABC pulled him.
Matt laid this out in another article, but there's strong case precedence for *not* intervening like this. Even if you disagree, this wasn't a result of formal FCC actions, but rather informal coercion by a government that holds merger approval rights for the very companies that it is coercing.
You don't have to be liberal to think that this is bad.
"The FCC prohibits broadcasting false information about a crime or a catastrophe if the broadcaster knows the information is false and will cause substantial “public harm” if aired." Setting a bunch of lunatics on the trail of MAGA people for supposedly murdering someone might fall under that.
Yes, and late night TV IS A BUSINESS. As Cuomo said, this was a business decision by ABC and Disney because it appeared Jiminy Kibble was about to make it worse. Cancellation HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH TRUMP OR THE FCC. They may have commented, but they made no declarations or policy decisions. That was on the businesses that owned that particular show. And once again we are reminded that the Left doesn't understand basic running of a business.
Why do Leftists always resort to ad hominem attacks. YES, I agree, and I know Carr and Trump both made their feelings known. But, in the real world, feelings aren't policies and they aren't directives. ABC and Disney both indicated this was a business decision. They didn't do it from fear of perceived threats. They could see the handwriting on the wall. Kimmel is such a no-talent non-comedian that it's clear they were already looking for a way out and Kimmel gave it to them.
And, this wasn't a Left/Right thing. If you remember, ABC also canceled Roseanne Barr, who is definitely not a Left leaning person. Kimmel just was so offensive ABC/Disney couldn't ignore it.
100%. Colbert Report was top tier satire for its day. Great writing and delivery. To realize the real person behind the character was such an indoctrinated imbecile was a shocking letdown.
I always assumed Carolla was the talent on The Man Show. I was shocked to learn years later that Kimmel was the lead in that duo. I thought Carolla was hilarious and Kimmel was just the unfunny sidekick who made the boss look good.
He wasn't saying it should have been canceled. He was saying he was surprised THE LEFT didn't cancel it. (Because it has all the attributes that the left hates).
Precisely. I actually enjoyed the man show. How Kimmel went from that low brow exercise in entertainment to hero of the left is beyond me. If anyone should be cancelled for what they did in the past it is Kimmel. The fact the left considers him a hero shows (a) how far they have fallen and (b) what absolute hypocrites they are.
“The accelerating furor reflects how online outrage does not always emerge organically, but is often the result of a small number of prominent voices redirecting their audience’s attention.” Kind of like how newspapers work!
So, what you’re saying is the right did what the left has been doing to them for a decade now? And they don’t like it? You’re saying he was cancelled for saying something? Karma is a bitch ain’t it. Kimmel deserves all of it too.
Do you think all speech on a NETWORK t.v. show - that falls under FCC purview and enforcement - is guaranteed? Such as profanity, racist comments, or "doing the Toobin"?
Greg, please take a look at Brendan Carr's long discussion with Benny Johnson on the licensing obligations (including what broadcasting in the public interest means), the equal time rule, and the legacy media's grip slipping with the rise of social media from yesterday.
It seems to me that Brendan Carr's FCC is supporting local affiliates to serve their local communities with their programming and encouraging them (should they so desire) to exert their influence on Comcast, Disney, etc. IMHO it sounds like a federalist position.
While the Left is describing this as firing related to free speech, Carr's position is that local affiliates (presumably in red states) are losing viewership and ad revenue from local advertisers because the national network is shoving this programming down their throats that their communities are turning off.
Carr makes some very interesting arguments. Very illuminating.
Its funny, in all of the reporting and acrimony and spleen-venting about this topic, nobody seems to have brought up that Jimmy Kimmel was supposed to be doing a COMEDY show. That just gets lost in the shuffle because he has been so utterly removed from comedy for years if not decades...
Smugly insulting strawmen caricatures of "Nazis" and "racists" gets laughs by letting Kimmel's audience feel superior to those they get to vicariously bully.
It's not a two-minute hate, it's 44 minutes of hate and 16 valuable minutes of advertising for anti-depressants and prescription obesity medicines.
So much of the Left is petty mean girls and beta boys virtue-signaling about how much kinder, smarter, and more sophisticated they are than those they point and laugh at.
Sounds like high school.
That’s cuz it is. It’s all they know. They’ve never been in a place where they’ve needed to know people & support them if needed.
Children in adult bodies
Kiddults
If you mean the left has to 'evolve' - you're correct. Their behavior over the assassination swings from juvenile to insane.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought the same thing - we NEVER actually graduate high school. Or maybe it’s just that some of us don’t mature beyond all the superficiality and pettiness.
Yeah maybe now. When I was in high school those people were marginalized. Hot tub time machine, baby.
The entire party and their supporters are stuck in e time warp where they somehow think it’s still the last century and they’re not the establishment.
In his 9/19 newsletter Konstantin Kisin writes,
"[Since 2020, the Summer of Floyd, and during peak leftist cancel culture] those of us on the Left who reluctantly voiced opposition to this behaviour—on the basis that it contradicted every principle the Left had stood for our entire lives, namely belief in freedom of speech, science, the pursuit of truth, skepticism of big pharma, opposition to racial discrimination, free and fair elections and so on—were told that we were not, in fact, on the Left. On the contrary, we were now 'right wing' and eventually even 'far right.'"
I am still amazed by this massive transmogrification. Maybe those people who predicted a "shifting of the north and south poles," a sort of World Flip-Out, were misinterpreting this message from the future. I place the blame for this squarely on the universities, whose "tenured radicals" tinkered with the Frankfurt School's evil reworking of Marxism after its Galaxy Brains saw that the Proletariat digs Capitalism. Critical theory escaped their seminar rooms and infected politics and the culture in general, like some sort of intellectual Covid.
I just hope, as Collard does, that the Trump administration backs off and lets shit like Kimmel's die a natural death along with broadcast news.
I wonder if anyone out there can answer this question that's been bugging me for a while:
Do the FCC guidelines for fairness and the "equal time doctrine" for politicians campaigning on TV and radio apply to cable and satellite transmissions? What exactly are "the airwaves"?
I agree that it would have been a smarter move in the short and long term to have let the Kimmel’s show die out, but his outrageous comments could not go without protest. Whether the action ABC/Disney took was due to pressure from the FCC and Trump, ultimately Kimmel reaped the consequences his choices.
I also suspect that Kimmel read the writing the wall and figuring his contract wouldn’t be renewed, chose to burn his house down before it was taken from him.
Exactly.
They've been battling the man for 50 years, without realizing just who's been in control for most of those years.
Whenever they lose control of power, they have a massive collective temper tantrum.
The sense of entitlement is shocking to observe.
This is it exactly. Bunch of fucking baby's. On both sides.
The fans of Jimmy Kimmel remind me of little spoiled brats that have always gotten everything they wanted. Now they can’t understand why the majority of Americans are tired of their BS.
I look at the whole saga as being more than that. The WOKE have fallen into the Id-world.
But a person would need to go back and read Freud's concept of Id/Ego/Superego here. I am probably the only one who is going to do that.
I throw out the "sounds like high school " comments not only because it does sound like high school, but because most readers here are not going to look beyond that.
kimmel doesn’t get laughs. the laughter on his show has been pre-recorded for years.
there used to be lots of video of his audiences, show after show, sitting just stone-faced while the “laugh now” lights were flashing and the laughter sound track was playing.
oooh I wonder if we can find that on the Wayback machine. That would be hilarious to post and it would shut up all the Demwits who probably never watched his show even once...
Way back when the audience was seriously into the show. It was also so sought after to be a guest that the green room routinely had actors show up who weren't booked; they got drunk and goofed around. Boy has Kimmel slid into the depths.
no doubt.
people call it Trump Derangement Syndrome but actually Olbermann plunged into that same exact mental illness long before Trump was Prez.
No doubt. Was he a closeted crazy person when he started at ESPN? He was funny and seemingly normal.
Assuming a fair amount of the audience is from southern CA and not just a bunch of tourists (this was how it was at least for several years at the beginning of Kimmel's rise on late night) his audience has zero understanding of how the rest of the country looks and thinks outside of the lefty bubbles in northeastern cities and suburbs. LA is a one trick town and the execrable public schools there along with the preening attitude of my fellow film business denizens means that there is a dearth of intellectual curiosity in Tinsel Town. It's largely devoid of anything resembling a cogent conversation on much of anything outside of whether or not James Gunn ruined the Superman franchise, where the Chili Peppers are playing when their next tour starts, and how cool the loft apartments are in NY. LA was plasticky in the 20th century but there were some solid thinkers amongst the gliteratti; that seems long ago now.
Not all of us in SoCal are in bubbles. I'm a Christian, ex-public school teacher, and 25-year veteran homeschooler (my eldest child went to MIT and managed to escape reasonably unscathed), and I understand how some of the rest of the country lives, having family connections to conservative parts of AZ, WI, and IL. I like the people here, but the politics are choking many right out of the state; people vote against their best interests. It's mystifying and distressing.
". . .people vote against their best interests. . ."
That should be all in caps. Absolutely right!
The Greg Gutfeld show is pretty mean, too. Perhaps what makes people laugh is evolving or just re-calibrating back to the schadenfreude of seeing someone else being publicly stoned, a classic entertainment throughout history?
But Greg really is funny; he pokes fun at everyone. Including himself..
Precisely. You beat me to it.
He's pretty funny. His old Red Eye show is hilarious.
Man, do I miss RED EYE.
Haven’t seen the red eye show but I can’t watch him anymore. His interrupting, scolding, increasingly crude comments are rude and unhelpful lately. His “elevation” to the 10 o’clock hour has gone to his head and it is no longer worth the time.
Oh, ok. "But Greg really is funny." I happen to think Kimmel's take downs of DJT are funny. And Gutfeld uses the public airwaves. Shouldn't he be accused of the same 'crime' as Kimmel?
I think there’s a legal difference between cable network and the big 3 controlled?bought by the FCC
Fox operates over publicly licensed airwaves as an FCC-licensed, over-the-air television network, distinguishing it from cable channels like Fox News Channel. Its programming is accessible on local affiliate stations throughout the country, just like other broadcast networks.
I, personally, don't watch TV anymore, so I really don't care who they have on..I watch Gutfeld on youtube. Without commercials.
mean or just biting sarcasm that is both funny and accurate.
The right is just as bad. We are a nation of overgrown chidren.
Correct. The voices on broadcast media on the right -- Gutfeld, Watters, Hannity -- are no different in their form or function than Kimmel and Colbert. They all use the public airwaves. They are all paid by their networks. They're audiences tune in to hear them. So, why is Kimmel being silenced and not Hannity or Gutfeld? Because Trump can; that's why. Those guys on the right better hope they retire before the pendulum swings back.
💯
Jeez, I’m saving this gem to use later.
Thank You! These programs are straight up propaganda. 44 minute commercials of how clever it is to be owned by the Democratic Party dogma and how "others" who don't sign on are idiots who have no intellectual value and must be controlled for their own good. "The propagandists purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human."-Aldous Huxley
Sounds like fascism… Since no one who is fascist can ever see their own fascism since, well, Mussolini.
Did Hitler ever admit to being fascist?
Mussolini proudly called himself a Fascist.
Hitler proudly called himself a Socialist.
"'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'"
I’m afraid Greg’s subheading has a typo. It said “He isn't just a comedian” but it should have said “He just isn’t a comedian.”
I have not found him to be funny particularly since:Covid. I wasn’t really aware of him much before that, except for the Man Show and did not like that show at all after a few attempts. At the same time, Carolla is still someone who I find interesting and intelligent. That he or Kimmel did the Man Show is not the problem. Jimmy has turned into a hateful, bitter leftist, anti-American. Carolla stuck to his roots,. He’d been a hard working, blue collar construction worker. That influenced his values. And still do.
Kimmel sought elite approbation. Cool kids acceptance.
I’m telling you: high school social hierarchy is the key to understanding a lot of what is going on.
Yeah. Jimmy is pure mediocrity, raised to a high position by fervently kissing the backsides of those in power... That happens a lot, in a lot of industries.
Exactly!
I had hadn't even known just how awful Kimmel was until Matt brought it up. Probably because I quit watching his show less than a minute into the first one I saw. What a tool.
He obviously did not have the comedic skills. Carson et al could make the audience laugh when he/they admitted their opening monologue was crashing. Kimmel seemed to just deliver a spiel and the trained seals clapped and whooped.
It's not lost on anyone. I think most of us don't care. He could have been holding a live rendition of 12th Night and it would not have mattered.
Supposed to be doing a comedy show?
Isn't it entirely between him and ABC What genre of show he puts on?
That is very true. However, late night television has traditionally been a place for light comedy and fluff interviews with celebrities with a new movie or book. If he wanted to go all political, that is his right. He just doesn't have the right to do it on television.
In another point, I saw someone say today that he will probably be on YouTube soon. Then, I'm not sure how you can say that his freedom of speech has been restricted. No one stopping his speech.
I think Kimmel is casting himself as a martyr which is very unattractive. He’s mean and not even intelligent. His take on Covid was all about obedience, no questions asked. I have never known that stance to produce great comedy. Taibbi may be right about the cancellation being bad optics, probably could have been handled a bit better, but as far as I know public airwaves have always had a different standard than cable.
True enough in your first paragraph, however tradition, statute law, and FCC regulation are three entirely different things.
And I hope that "you" in your final paragraph is meant generically, because I specifically have not claimed that Kimmel's free speech has been infringed in any way (because it hasn't)
And advertisers...whom he managed to piss off with his "comedy" routine. Anyone really think the advertisers didn't call ABC after that sh!tshow?
Yes, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have free speech in the form of campaign donations and, of course, when it comes to content, business is business, especially, for example, when government approval of a merger is imminent.
It didn’t have anything to do with “corporations are people”. If you have a business, do you want to throw your advertising budget at a show that pisses off about half of your customers?
Corporations donate out of the goodness of their hearts and to strengthen our democracy and it has nothing to do with business, sure. And they comply with the sentiments of government officials that control their business to please advertisers? Not even close.
And his viewers too? I mean, he had/has actual viewers. Hannity has viewers. Gutfeld has viewers. Where exactly does the Government fit into all this?
The viewers simply aren't part of the equation, except as an aggregate quantity to attract advertisers, who are the real customers for broadcast media.
Surely you have heard and appreciated the significance of the saying, "If you aren't paying, you aren't the customer, you are the product"?
You're not wrong. However, without actual viewers there are no advertisers. And while numbers of viewers matter, so to does type of viewer (demographic profile). But you already know that. Point is: Where is the government's role in a private exchange of value from Network to Viewer to Advertiser? For most of history, the 'conservative' position is: "there is no government role."
I can’t remember a Jimmy Kimmel joke after 2015… Anyone?
The world isn't funny any more.
How about we stop referring to him as a comedian and refer to him as what actually he is: a political activist working for the Democratic Party
Sure, and we'll refer to Hannity, Gutfeld, Watters, Kilmeade et al as political activists working for the DJT's Crypto business or the Republican National Committee.
"What's your favorite Jimmy Kimmel joke?"
*crickets*
Answer: Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel's monologue about the MAGA gang "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it" must surely go down in history as the primo example that validates the conservative trope "if you want to know what the left is doing, listen to the accusations they make against conservatives."
It's actually quite funny, because Kimmel was desperately trying to characterize Robinson as a right-winger, and was lying about him in order to score political points -- which he JUST SAID was "the new low."
And thinking all the time that he’s the smartest guy in the room. That he thinks Robinson was right-wing reveal how shallow his understanding of the known facts of the case are, and from whom he gets his news. I daresay most leftists still think Robinson was a MAGA groupie (no such thing but ignorant leftists generalize anyone whom they don’t like as one). In fact, Robinson’s parents say his politics have changed a lot in the last few years but he is not registered in either party, and his attitudes are more aligned with the trans community than either political party narrative.
I have seen a photoshopped picture of Robinson with a pro-Trump t-shirt, along with the picture before it was altered. The alteration was presumably done by a dishonest leftist to provide evidence for leftists who want badly to believe it wasn’t another leftist shooter. Just like they did with Charlie Kirk, leftists take a quote out of context and by the time they’re done millions of leftists are reading and believing that Charlie Kirk thought gay people should be stoned to death. That false meme went around the world, and has been quoted by millions including journalists who don’t bother to check their sources. Why does the left intentionally do such things? To gain partisan advantage as if life was all a game?
Kimmel was paid to do a job using his employer’s resources and its name. If he wants to spread lies, let him do it on his own time using his own resources. Free speech doesn’t mean that somebody else has to provide you with a platform. Get a life.
I found Kimmel’s “joke” particularly galling because I frequent Reddit, and there is a substantial cohort there who still virulently assert that Robison was an extreme RW groyper, despite all evidence known by Sunday indicating he was LW (family statements, evidence he was in love with a transitioning furry). Perpetuating the lie to those who don’t get news from anywhere out of their echo chamber just stokes division and further violence.
As a practical matter, he had to know it was a lie but must have felt he could still get a laugh from his leftist audience at the expense of the right by portraying the right as desperate to show Robinson wasn’t one of them. It was a cheap shot showing how low he was willing to go, even as he accused the right falsely of “going low.” In my view it was unprofessional and he revealed himself as a sleazeball. If he worked for me I would have told him to go somewhere else to be so shallow.
He tells jokes?
He identifies as a joke teller.
Who knew?!
The parents tricking their kids on Halloween was/is funny.
I don’t remember the joke. Just the blackface make up he was wearing.
I watched that skit again today and was wondering what was up with the scoreboard.
The teams are tied 32-32, which makes sense because Malone was #32.
But the clock is stuck at 9:56, and I don't know why. Nothing gets on tv by accident!
Who’s Jimmy Kimmel?
He set up a booth and tricked a bunch of women into signing a petition to end women's suffrage. That was pretty funny.
I will admit that was a good skit, but I remember similar jokes from my childhood so he gets no credit for originality.
"I'm a comedian."
Either "I'm fucking Ben Affleck" or "apologies to Matt Damon" easily. Both are great gags.
OK, this is lame but here goes:
Two old Jews are sitting at the bar. The first one says, "I think my wife is a Republican."
The second asks, "How can you tell?"
The first one replies, "Last night when I came home, she had thrown out all the rye bread. Now we can only eat Challah."
I have literally never watched Jimmy Kimmel, except for clips posted on social media that ended up in my feed. I've never thought he was funny, and I always thought he was a democrat hack.
This is the main point to me. If Disney "WOKE" up and realized that what Kimmel said was wrong and decided to suspend him fine. We all know that's NOT what happened here as Disney encourages what is being said on this show.
I have a GREAT deal of issue with the FCC getting involved on Trump's word for this. Instead of mocking more idiocy around the clueless yet "highly educated" class of our society now we give them an angle to push back with.
Trump needs to back off and let the left eat their own. My greatest fear right now is the absolute opportunist that is my governor Shapiro is just one Trump admin overreach from actually taking us to Authoritarianism.
A). You have no proof FCC got involved "on Trump's word." B) There are rules about companies who are on publicly provided airwaves and Kimmel has repeatedly violated them. C) Trump is going to Trump and most of his supporters understand that and can tell the difference between a policy statement and trolling. D) The Left is just pissed because the Right has been too polite over the years to push back. Trump is an Alpha male and decided to even the playing field. His comments are far more tame and fair than the kind of bloviating Chuckles Schumer does. (Shouting at SCOTUS that they will reap the whirlwind comes to mind.) E) We suffered years of Covidiots calling for the death penalty and prison and losing one's children over daring to question BigPharma's covid death shot. They wanted all of us who have reasons to not take the shot to lose our livelihoods, our children, our lives, and more because we dared to challenge the Overlords. We already HAVE authoritarians. And they are LIBERALS. The party that wants to be America's HOA.
In some way, this whole incident reminds me of the recent funding NPR brouhaha. NPR apparently had something like 87 editors and not a single Republican. Yet felt very worthy of public funding despite extreme bias. I wonder how the Democrats would take to funding “public” radio staffed entirely by Hannitys. Predictably it was spun in the press with NPR as the victim of mean, backward conservatives.
None of this would have happened if the two largest affiliate conglomerates (NextStar and Sinclair) hadn’t declared their viewers found the content offensive, and were pulling the show.
That was the origin- not the FCC or Trump.
Both parties aspire to be authoritarian and to impose their worldview on everyone. Nearly everyone excuses the party they like and touts the perfidy of the other one. A plague o' both their houses.
All very well said!
There's no doubt that Carr's statement was an unforced error. IMO he was attempting to "seize the moment" and bask in glory and... it was an idiot move. The problem is, in his narcissistic power grab, he managed to turn supporters into very wary skeptics. These wannabes need to STFU and leave the trolling to Trump.
Agree that it was dumb unforced error. However, it was all rhetoric and not action. Does anybody REALLY believe that woke Disney would do anything at the behest of the Trump admin?!
They would if it meant holding onto their billion-dollar broadcast licenses.
Haven't watched broadcast television for 15 years. It's unnecessary these days for most consumers. Last funny guy was Jay Leno.
I haven't watched it since the war in Iraq..Too much lying..
Allison -- You seem to have a strong opinion of him for someone who has "literally never watched" him before.
Like I said -- I don't watch the show, but I have seen enough clips to find him not funny at all. (I may be dating myself, but I remember the good ole days of Johnny Carson and when Steve Martin was on SNL.)
I remember when Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd were on SNL, along with Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin. Great talents, all, and able to mock politicians of all stripes. Those were the days.
I rewatched the first few seasons of the show when they were released in their entirety a few years ago.
A lot of the political humor was extremely intelligent and still stands up today.
Indeed. Chase making fun of President Ford's clumsiness was funny. The modern SNL train missed MANY opportunities for sheer humor with Biden. Biden damn near wrote the jokes for them. Plus Biden's cabinet members ...
It is extraordinary that in New York SNL can’t find better comedy writers these days. And the press covers the show like it is still the 1970s when it was hilarious.
So great. Remember Akroyd and Curtin doing “Point, Counterpoint.” (Was it Shana?) “You ignorant slut.” I am laughing at the memory. We live in a world of thin skin.
Lest we forget, Kentucky Fried Movie's "COUNT / POINTERCOUNT"🤣
That was great.
Because of the way they did it. It wasn't veiled hatred. You can tell when a comedian is an equal opportunity comedy writer. In the last 10 years, the Left has just been mean spirited. Bullying comedy is not funny except to bullies.
Yeah, but the rest of us had not been programmed to take offense at everything. How did that happen?
Yes, one of my favorites was Jim Carrey mocking Clinton."Ain't nobody humping around.." Still makes me laugh when I watch it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6TFGrCp9Zg&ab_channel=ThomasReyes
Man that Carrey is such a great physical comedian.
Another big time TDS sufferer. Made anti-Trump paintings. Lol.
I remember those greats on SNL and few seasons later when Norm McDonald did the weekend update segment . Those bits where he trashed OJ never grow old — they were mean, but on target AND funny.
You do understand Allison that the point of this entire essay isn't whether or not Kimmel is funny. Right?
Yes. I was just sharing an opinion.
It just takes a few clips to see who he is
He's a hack and a hypocrite.
Ever hear of The Man Show?
Yes, I did see the Man Show. I found it relatively sophomoric, but nonetheless it was a creative, if silly, concept. You may find his talent level mediocre, judging by your "hack" description, but I feel safe to assume he has achieved levels of success by many different standards that are substantially greater than yours.
McDonald’s dwarfs any fine dining establishment in terms of success. Is that really your point?
That may be so, I have no idea, but I’m gonna guess, SyberPhule still has their dignity intact.
Oh, you know SyberPhule outside of substack comments?
Or are you just compelled to be a condescending ass?
“Levels of success”? There are many ways to measure that, but demeaning someone personally because of a comment made damn sure ain’t one of them.
It's a real contest between Kimmel and Colbert as to who is the most deeply deeply obnoxious and unfunny. I would probably go with Kimmel but man is it close. I do not want the FCC involved or even to exist but I really hope the pendulum starts to swing away from giving millions of dollars to unfunny assholes to preach pablum to a tiny audience night after night on netwrok tv. And for that matter for people to think its perfectly ok to punlicly call for someone's death and report to school to teach your class the next day. It has to stop.
Colbert is such a conundrum to me. He was generally funny as John Stewart's mockingly Republican sidekick. Now he's just stupid and really a **ick....
What people keep missing in the Colbert cancel decision is that it's not just his salary, but his fleet of unfunny, unknowledgeable writers that cost the network twice what they can bring in from advertising.
Colbert and Stewart were funny during the Bush years when they rightly criticized and mocked the regime for legitimate reasons.
They became unfunny with Obama was elected and all that criticism abruptly ended.
Stewart is still the most reasonable of the bunch by far, but his bias makes him less funny and hard to watch.
Yeah? You know all about the broadcast TV business model? You're outraged that a handful of 'unknowledgeable writers' (how can you tell?) cost the network 'twice what they bring in from advertising." Advertising on what?
Apparently more than you do..
"CBS brass say they pulled the plug on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' because of its punishing losses — pegged between $40 million and $50 million a year — and claim politics had nothing to do with it, The Post has learned," Gasparino wrote in the Post's report.
"Colbert gets no advertising and late night is a tough spot," a person with direct knowledge of CBS's decision reportedly told Gasparino. "Colbert might be No. 1, but who watches late night TV anymore?"
Another person close to the decision reportedly said, "Colbert loses $40 million to $50 million a year, so George Cheeks just decided to pull the plug." Cheeks is co-CEO of Paramount Global, and president and CEO of CBS.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/07/22/cbs-losing-money-colbert-show/
Colbert himself didn't get canceled. The actual TV show got canceled. They aren't bringing in another host in 2026. The entire show will be gone. The decision makers made a financial decision, not a political one. The late night TV landscape isn't what it used to be. It's far more fractured with far more viewing choices for consumers. Not to mention that the audience that actually watches late night TV when the advertisers (the money people) want skews old (50 to 60) and female (60%).
I should have been more clear. But, people keep making this about all the politics, and while sure... Negative opinions aren't good, neither is a show that costs 4 or 5 times more to air than it brings in.
Be careful what you wish for: an unregulated RF spectrum would be a very bad thing.
But while there definitely is a scarcity of frequencies on which to broadcast for a given purpose, we now have additional ways of immediate information transfer that don't involve physical broadcast ing You can be glad that the FCC has gotten rid of things like the fairness doctrine as a result.
You should work on your reading comprehension.
I am in agreement that the FCC has no need to try to regulate content for political balance, but that's not what you said. Here are your exact words: " I do not want the FCC involved OR EVEN TO EXIST [emphasis added]".
I am telling you that the FCC has plenty of justification for existence completely apart from any content regulation.
And I disagree with that. My reading comprehension is just fine.
Ok, anarchist. At least we know what you are.
Anarchist. Yeah that's me. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Again there is no need for an FCC to regulate three networks out of the literal hundreds available not even including interest content.
Those "three networks out of... literal hundreds" have each organized hundreds of sub-networks in the form of network affiliates, and monopolize a scarce resource known as radio bands. That's why the FCC exists. Without it, I could put up antenna in my back yard and make sure nobody is even able to watch those networks in my neighborhood, preventing their brain rot from infecting my community. Now that I think about it, maybe getting rid of the FCC would be a good idea...
There is a big difference . Networks are bound by guidelines. They have to get a license and abide by standards and practices that serve in the public interest.
CABLE TV is a different beast- they are not bound by the same rules.
True. A radio wild west would have led to massive interference and rural people not even getting radio at night. However, in 1934 the FCC gained broad powers that went beyond regulating traffic on the frequency lanes of what was then the information highway. Some of the language is downright unconstitutional.
John Oliver?
He's bad but he's like Alister Cooke compared to those two.
can’t be funny and be a partisan shill—gotta choose one or the other. kimmel was far more invested in shilling than comedy.
I would agree. Greg Gutfeld dishes out major shillage. The show does have a sprinkling of good jokes by funny writers, like the Leftovers segment. In fairness, preaching to the choir takes less creativity and effort. If the audience eats it up, why not go there?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6TFGrCp9Zg&ab_channel=ThomasReyes This was some funny stuff..
Colbert was a case in point: you can't be a fanatic and still be funny, except as satire.
Democrats: "We make the rules. And the first rule is that we are entitled to do things that others are not. And the second rule is that we can change the rules whenever we want."
BTW, that claimed asymmetry in ethics is real, including among left wing academics. They call it critical theory.
Democrats: “The Truth is whatever I want to believe”…
And, second, "The Truth is whatever I want YOU to believe."
“Nothing beyond the text.” Who writes the text controls “reality”. Orwell nails it again.
🎯
You got it.
I think Stuart Thompson made at least one accurate point. The people on the right will have to learn about late night bias via a person who tracts late night shows. That's because most people on the right have better things to do than watch Kibble & the rest of them; clipping toenails is an example of better time usage.
Or sleep!
That's a favorite of mine too. 🍺
Disney also owns Hulu.. FCC doesn’t regulate it.. if Disney Really wanted to keep Kimmel they could push his show off ABC and on Hulu.. this could be done in a day IF they wanted to
Excellent point. It illustrates that they (Disney) actually really did want I get rid of him.
Bottom line: he was losing them millions
I agree. I used to get beers with 2 guys who watched John Oliver and when they let it slip they watched Oliver, I kinda let them have it. That is cult level indoctrination and othering. It's disgusting.
Amazing! So if I'm hearing this right, conservatives weren't outraged by what Kimmel had said until they found out about it. And that makes it illegitimate. Like, if it were real organic legitimate outrage, it would have emerged naturally, without anyone needing to know about the actual incident.
Come to think of it, maybe that isn't that crazy of a thought. Because most of the progressive outrage that I hear about is over things that never actually happened. So perhaps that actually is a thing after all.
The denial of what he said is peak 1984.
A reminder to all those leftists thinking there's an equivalent in what they did with their cancel culture over this: The key fact is that freedom of speech allows you not to be arrested, imprisoned, or possibly executed. It does not guarantee you freedom from repercussions in public forums for vile drivel you exude.
Sure, but the accusation is the repercussions were government mandated loss of work. Left or right, we should all be against that.
Kimmel sucks and negative response to his bad comedy is not a freedom of speech issue, but losing his job right after the FCC chairman goes on air and public insinuates that he was going after him for his comments about Kirk is a freedom of speech issue.
Jimmy Kibbles violated one of the fundamental tenets of the FCC in that he did not act in the public interest. The fact that he got away with it for years doesn't mean he was not in violation. Oh, and by the way, you pretty much just identified your politics.
A law unenforced is just a suggestion.
No, it is not. Kimmel's show is carried on public airways, owned by the American public, licensed to the OVER THE AIR networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX). The license contain requirements the network must adhere to. These requirements don't apply to cable news or YouTube as they are not carried over the airways and are not regulated by the FCC.
If Trump had demanded that Morning Joe be taken off, I agree that would be 100% wrong and I'd be calling the White House.
I have this backwards, and I apologize. The FCC license is with the local on air stations, NOT the network. The license requirements sit with the local stations. Local stations affiliate with a network and agree to run that network's programming. Should a complaint arise from programming aired, it is the local station at risk of losing its broadcast license.
Hence Sinclair, a major local affiliate conglomerate, was the first to say their local networks would not rebroadcast Kimmel. Kimmel's revenue went up in smoke, the ABC pulled him.
Right.
He’s lost 70% of his audience since January I’m told. It was. Good excuse to cut him loose
Do you know the purpose and function of the FCC?
Yes -- not to be arbiters of truth.
Matt laid this out in another article, but there's strong case precedence for *not* intervening like this. Even if you disagree, this wasn't a result of formal FCC actions, but rather informal coercion by a government that holds merger approval rights for the very companies that it is coercing.
You don't have to be liberal to think that this is bad.
"The FCC prohibits broadcasting false information about a crime or a catastrophe if the broadcaster knows the information is false and will cause substantial “public harm” if aired." Setting a bunch of lunatics on the trail of MAGA people for supposedly murdering someone might fall under that.
Dead-on. It really is that simple.
That wasn't why he got fired. Disney was looking to axe him- and he gave them the means.
I agree that the optics are bad, & I didn't really appreciate Brendan Carr's actions here.
I'm still conflicted on this issue, but the fact is, the affiliates had decided to dump Kimmel's show. This needs to be taken into account, as well.
Yes, and late night TV IS A BUSINESS. As Cuomo said, this was a business decision by ABC and Disney because it appeared Jiminy Kibble was about to make it worse. Cancellation HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH TRUMP OR THE FCC. They may have commented, but they made no declarations or policy decisions. That was on the businesses that owned that particular show. And once again we are reminded that the Left doesn't understand basic running of a business.
Why do Leftists always resort to ad hominem attacks. YES, I agree, and I know Carr and Trump both made their feelings known. But, in the real world, feelings aren't policies and they aren't directives. ABC and Disney both indicated this was a business decision. They didn't do it from fear of perceived threats. They could see the handwriting on the wall. Kimmel is such a no-talent non-comedian that it's clear they were already looking for a way out and Kimmel gave it to them.
And, this wasn't a Left/Right thing. If you remember, ABC also canceled Roseanne Barr, who is definitely not a Left leaning person. Kimmel just was so offensive ABC/Disney couldn't ignore it.
"I'm not a leftist" 🤣🤣
"Orange."
"I'm not a leftist."
Uh huh.
Name the last time Disney captulated to the Trump administration in any way.
Right. NEVER.
In fact, they actively and publicly attack the administration time after time.
You have to be a "drooling idiot" to not realize that this was about $$$.
Like the rest, when Kimmel began taking himself seriously, it was just a matter of time. Comedians are paid to be funny. Comedy 101.
Woody Allen begs to differ…
Huh? I've always thought Woody was hilarious.
Woody Allen is a legend in comedy.
He was until he thought he was Bergman and then, well, you know, his personal mess…
His "personal mess" was a witchhunt- people forget: he was proved innocent.
Agreed.
That was all a load of crap.
Proof the Democrats are hypocritical assholes. A review of any single man show should have cancelled him for life. But the Dems love him.
Do you mean not everyone loves "Girls on Trampolines?"
I would watch a show that was nothing but a half hour of girls on trampolines, as long as Kimmel wasn't anywhere near it.
Actually, he was funny on that show. and "The Man Show Boy" was hilarious.
Colbert was hilarious on the "Colbert Report," too. Ironic that turning into the real Steven Colbert was the biggest downgrade in late-night history.
100%. Colbert Report was top tier satire for its day. Great writing and delivery. To realize the real person behind the character was such an indoctrinated imbecile was a shocking letdown.
I always assumed Carolla was the talent on The Man Show. I was shocked to learn years later that Kimmel was the lead in that duo. I thought Carolla was hilarious and Kimmel was just the unfunny sidekick who made the boss look good.
What about his skits...in blackface?
Like Troodo of Canada?
MAGA talking points! He was playing John Finley Horton.
He wasn't saying it should have been canceled. He was saying he was surprised THE LEFT didn't cancel it. (Because it has all the attributes that the left hates).
Precisely. I actually enjoyed the man show. How Kimmel went from that low brow exercise in entertainment to hero of the left is beyond me. If anyone should be cancelled for what they did in the past it is Kimmel. The fact the left considers him a hero shows (a) how far they have fallen and (b) what absolute hypocrites they are.
“The accelerating furor reflects how online outrage does not always emerge organically, but is often the result of a small number of prominent voices redirecting their audience’s attention.” Kind of like how newspapers work!
Prof. Robert Cialdini made his name on explaining how this works, in terms of the way the human psyche evolved.
See his classic book, "Influence". And "Pre-Suasion". Although I can rarely find anyone who reads anymore.....
So, what you’re saying is the right did what the left has been doing to them for a decade now? And they don’t like it? You’re saying he was cancelled for saying something? Karma is a bitch ain’t it. Kimmel deserves all of it too.
It's so much fun to watch people clap as the first amendment gets dismantled
If you think this is a first amendment issue I suggest you follow the money first.
Couldn't it be both? I've already read the background on the merger issue. I know that's part of it.
Sinclair said if Kimmel apologized on air they’d pull their ban and let him back on their regional airwaves. That was never going to happen so…
Do you think all speech on a NETWORK t.v. show - that falls under FCC purview and enforcement - is guaranteed? Such as profanity, racist comments, or "doing the Toobin"?
Kimmel did none of those things
Reread the question.
Greg, please take a look at Brendan Carr's long discussion with Benny Johnson on the licensing obligations (including what broadcasting in the public interest means), the equal time rule, and the legacy media's grip slipping with the rise of social media from yesterday.
It seems to me that Brendan Carr's FCC is supporting local affiliates to serve their local communities with their programming and encouraging them (should they so desire) to exert their influence on Comcast, Disney, etc. IMHO it sounds like a federalist position.
While the Left is describing this as firing related to free speech, Carr's position is that local affiliates (presumably in red states) are losing viewership and ad revenue from local advertisers because the national network is shoving this programming down their throats that their communities are turning off.
Carr makes some very interesting arguments. Very illuminating.
I’m beyond irate about Kirk’s assassination. But construction as the 4th stage of grief is HILARIOUS!
I agree the main part of the joke was funny. It wasn't necessary to say the MAGA stuff to pull it off.
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