U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) has sent a letter to Nexstar Media Group in response to its announcement to no longer broadcast “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on its ABC-affiliated stations, leading to a brief suspension of the show by ABC and accusations of bowing to pressure from the Trump administration.
The decisions by Nexstar and ABC came following remarks by Kimmel regarding the killing of Charlie Kirk, a conservative influencer with close ties to the administration, by a gunman in Utah earlier this month. Kimmel said Trump and his followers were trying to “score political points” from the killing, and also said that Trump did not appear to be grieving Kirk’s death.
Though ABC announced on Monday that Kimmel’s show would return, Nexstar-owned affiliates have maintained they will move forward with preempting the show from their programming. Another broadcaster, Sinclair, has also said it will continue to not air the show as scheduled.
Nexstar owns the western Massachusetts TV channel WWLP-22 News, which broadcasts in many cities and towns in McGovern’s district such as Greenfield and Northampton, although the channel is an affiliate of NBC instead of ABC. The area’s local ABC affiliate, Gray Media, will continue to air the show.
In a letter addressed to Nexstar executives Perry Sook, Michael Baird and Andy Alford, McGovern said he was concerned about Nexstar’s decision given the fact that Federal Communications Commissioner Chair Brendan Carr had threatened to revoke ABC affiliate license to force ABC’s parent company Disney to punish Kimmel.
“Using the power of the United States Government to silence those who speak their mind not only tramples on the United States Constitution, it represents an unprecedented assault on freedom of expression,” McGovern wrote in the letter. “While private companies like ABC and Disney are not necessarily prohibited from firing someone for protected speech, the federal government is — and coercing a private company to do so is extraordinarily suspect.”
McGovern also cites in the letter the Supreme Court case Bradenburg v. Ohio, where the court ruled in 1969 that the government cannot punish violent speech unless it is “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action”.
“Kimmel did not issue a threat or express an intention to commit a violent act,” the letter states. “He simply shared his opinion.”
The letter concludes with a series of eight questions demanded of Nexstar by McGovern, who wrote that the decision could have on local affiliates within his own district.
Among the questions asked include whether Nexstar would suppress any kind of content that criticizes the late Kirk, including from members of Congress. Another question asked if it would take action against programming featuring Vice President JD Vance or Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who have made comments referring to the Democratic Party as a “domestic extremist association” and “terrorist network.”
In a release announcing the letter, McGovern went further in his criticism of Carr and the Trump administration regarding their role in Kimmel’s suspension. He also noted that decision by Nexstar comes as it seeks federal approval of a multibillion dollar merger with broadcast group Tegna.
“Local TV stations have a responsibility to serve the public interest — not advance political vendettas against those who express opinions the government doesn’t like,” McGovern stated. “Using the threat of license revocation to strong-arm a network into silencing a comedian is not only corrupt — it’s almost certainly unconstitutional.”
Nexstar said Tuesday that it would continue to preempt the show, “pending assurances that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.” Sinclair Broadcast Group said it would also keep Kimmel off its stations. The two corporations collectively control about a quarter of ABC affiliates.
After ABC suspended Kimmel last week, Carr said that it appeared that the talk-show host was trying to “directly mislead the American public” with his remarks about Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man charged with Kirk’s killing, and his motives. Those motives remain unclear. Authorities say Robinson grew up in a conservative family, but his mother told investigators his son had turned left politically in the last year.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said before ABC announced the suspension. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Those remarks set a backlash in motion, with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz saying that Carr acted like “a mafioso.” Hundreds of entertainment luminaries, including Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Aniston, signed a letter circulated by the American Civil Liberties Union that called ABC’s move “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
Some consumers punished ABC parent Disney by canceling subscriptions to its streaming services.
Trump had hailed Kimmel’s suspension, even inaccurately saying the show had been canceled. Kimmel has been a relentless Trump critic in his comedy.
Trump’s administration has used threats, lawsuits and federal government pressure to try to exert more control over the media industry. Trump sued ABC and CBS over news coverage, which the companies settled. Trump has also filed defamation lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and successfully urged Congress to strip federal funding from NPR and PBS.
Disney and ABC executives reportedly negotiated the return for several days before announcing the resolution. The ABC statement said the suspension happened because some of Kimmel’s comments were “ill-timed and thus insensitive,” but it did not call them misleading.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Kirk and now headed by his widow, posted on X that “Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it’s their mistake to make.”
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.