“Jimmy Kimmel Live(s)!”: When America Goes to Bat for Free Speech

Photo provided by Flickr

Over the past few months, the United States has seen its rights threatened in countless manners. From censorship of government databases, removed mentions of diversity, and banning publications which don’t align with President Trump’s views from the White House, America’s freedom of speech has been challenged countless times. On September 17th, Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show was cancelled because of comments on the recent death of political speaker Charlie Kirk. On September 23rd, it returned. So what was different about Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show that it convinced hundreds of thousands of Americans, some of whom don’t even watch the show, to stand up to defend it? The difference was the familiarity of Kimmel to the American people; for once, everyone had a stake in defending him.

Less than one month ago, Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative political speaker, was shot and killed at a debate at Utah Valley University. The outcry following his death from both sides of the political spectrum led to an extreme rift, only perpetuated by conservative politicians throwing blame at the left. Many targets of that outcry lost jobs or received threats from both online and offline sources. Kimmel was one such target.

Of course, Kimmel should be subject to online criticism, including comments on the quality and content of his broadcasts. Not only does their commentary improve his show, but the people of the United States have the right to freedom of speech. However, so does Kimmel. After all, he didn't laud Kirk’s death, or praise the person who shot him, or even criticize Kirk as an opportunity to push his own political agenda. His commentary wasn’t on Charlie Kirk at all. It was on MAGA. 

To be exact, according to the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” broadcast, Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with 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.” Kimmel asserted that conservative politicians were blaming the left in order to gain a few votes rather than truly mourning Kirk– exposing their political maneuvering in a time when politics should be much less of a priority than addressing gun violence and grieving the lives lost to it. And for this statement he was attacked by the President of the United States.

“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” Trump seethed on his X account.

The involvement of the federal government in the internal workings of a media company are more overt and terrifying than ever before. Though censorship has always existed, and worsened since the election of Trump, the overt method Trump used demonstrates his willingness to ignore the first amendment. But his threats went too far with “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Trump thought that after months of slowly tearing away our constitutional rights America wouldn’t care about one man. He was wrong.

Less than one week after his show was placed on indefinite hiatus, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned. From protests outside Kimmel’s Hollywood studio to boycotting ABC and Disney, across the country protestors fought for Kimmel’s right to free speech. The people went to bat for Jimmy Kimmel.

Not everyone watches Jimmy Kimmel, not everyone loves him, but (almost) everyone knows him. And, to the people of the United States, that is important. We’ve seen it time and time again: when your community is impacted by ICE, anti-abortion laws or gun-control issues, that is when your empathy rises. And Jimmy Kimmel was someone that everyone knows. So everyone felt something about him losing his job– for once, the United States, outside of the uber-conservative sect, was actually united, in defense of free speech.

But will the US be able to unite over the smaller instances? The answer, for now, is no. According to the New York Times, more than 145 people around the country have been fired for comments on Charlie Kirk. They did not receive the same outrage as Kimmel did. It’s time to adjust our selective empathy to understand and empathize with all who struggle under the authoritarianism of our current administration.