By Dan Heching, CNN
(CNN) — In September of last year, late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel found himself thrust into the spotlight — one that reached far beyond his studio stage.
The late-night scene was already in upheaval after CBS abruptly canceled Stephen Colbert’s show that summer, a move that sent shockwaves through the industry and fueled speculation about the future of the long-standing comedy format.
So when Kimmel’s comments connected to the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk went viral for all the wrong reasons, the risks were even higher than usual.
As outrage on the right flared all the way up to the White House, the host and his staff received a barrage of threats, with their personal information doxxed. An administration official threatened to revoke ABC affiliate licenses. Just hours later, ABC suspended Kimmel’s show “indefinitely.”
It was a moment that even Kimmel himself would later admit his show might not have survived. “I was like, I’m never coming back on the air,” he later said. But he was wrong – he did come back.
‘The easy way or the hard way’
In the days following Kirk’s assassination, Kimmel – no stranger to stirring the pot with pointed political humor – focused on perceptions around the alleged killer, saying “the MAGA Gang (was) desperately trying to characterize this kid” as “anything other than one of them.”
Kimmel also mocked President Donald Trump for talking about the White House East Wing renovation when a member of the press asked him how he was personally coping with Kirk’s death.
The funnyman again discussed the politicization of Kirk’s assassination on the following night’s show, saying “many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
As a growing chorus of right-wing media pundits took issue, conservative podcaster Benny Johnson had Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, on his show to address the situation.
Carr, whose agency licenses local TV stations across the country, said the matter could be handled “the easy way or the hard way” for ABC and parent company Disney.
Just hours later, station group owners Nexstar and Sinclair said they would no longer be airing Kimmel’s show in their respective markets. Shortly after, ABC announced it was removing the program from the air entirely, saying “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be pre-empted indefinitely.”
From primetime to preemption
The move to take Kimmel off the air sparked a firestorm, with critics blasting the FCC for overreach and encroachment on free speech, especially since Nexstar was in the process of seeking FCC approval for a proposed merger with another station group owner, Tegna.
The suspension even caused a consumer boycott of Disney+ and Hulu, streaming platforms that are part of Disney’s portfolio.
Speaking with CNN’s Erin Burnett after Kimmel’s show was taken off the air, the lone Democrat-aligned FCC commissioner, Anna Gomez, said, “the First Amendment does not allow us, the FCC, to tell broadcasters what they can broadcast.”
“I saw the clip. He did not make any unfounded claims, but he did make a joke, one that others may even find crude, but that is neither illegal nor grounds for companies to capitulate to this administration in ways that violate the First Amendment,” Gomez told CNN. “This sets a dangero