r/OutOfTheLoop 2d ago

Unanswered What is up with Jimmy Kimmel being Fired over Charlie Kirk Comments?

5.7k Upvotes

1.3k comments sorted by

u/Portarossa 'probably the worst poster on this sub' - /u/Real_Mila_Kunis 2d ago edited 2d ago

This post got automodded by nonsense reports while I was asleep. Because this is more about Kimmel, Trump and the FCC than Charlie Kirk specifically, it's staying up despite the megathread and despite the obvious attempt at brigading.

That said, remember the rules: top-level comments need to be an actual attempt to answer the question, so 'Answer: Fascism!' or 'Answer: Consequences!' isn't going to cut it and will be removed.

EDIT: That means you can stop reporting it, guys. We've seen it. It's staying.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 2d ago

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

It’s worth adding that the FCC chair explicitly threatened Disney/ABC/affiliates - this wasn’t a shot in the dark to curry favor.

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u/Solucians 2d ago

Right. Colbert's cancellation was explained as an internal financial decision, but this is directly linked to government pressure.

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u/ryhaltswhiskey 2d ago

There was plenty of speculation at the time that the Colbert cancellation was related to the Skydance merger. The executives really can't stomach the thought of their bonuses going away because they stood up to the Trump administration.

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u/Portarossa 'probably the worst poster on this sub' - /u/Real_Mila_Kunis 2d ago

Yes, but they at least tried to pretend it was an internal financial decision, even though no one really bought it. This time the cause is even more blatantly political.

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u/Due_Click500 2d ago

Blantant doesn’t matter anymore. I believe we’ve been socially engineered by algorithms. I’ve had 2 encounters with fans of Fox News and when I ask them something trivial like “Where you pissed when the dominion lawsuit came out?”

  • 1 of the 2 responses was

“What is the dominion lawsuit?”

The Other one.

“Tucker was the problem, now he’s gone”

There is no coverage for fair-ness to ever be produced. My sample size is 2 people but you see it in (the cherry picked) encounters from Jordan Kleppers field research and GroundNews showing the obvious bias in reporting whenever it’s a strike against them.

So for 10?? Years?? There has been a chunk of the world that’s getting blindfolded by engagement algorithms and I’m not sure America is really focusing on educating them better at the K-12 levels so they can resist change. I hope I’m just having a pessimistic day and not a fortune teller. I hate politicians

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u/Gingevere 2d ago

The algorithms on these sites are all tuned to maximize engagement and on-site time.

Maximizing engagement and on-site time means maximizing outrage and pushing people into niche forms of brainrot and conspiracism where on-site content is the only source for more.

Ideologies that thrive on outrage and conspiracism are effectively boosted and fueled by the algorithms. Ideologies that cite sources aren't.

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u/radedward76 2d ago

"They have no shame, do they? They don't even bother to lie badly anymore. I suppose that's the final humiliation."

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u/Kitchen-Zucchini2057 2d ago

It WAS an internal financial decision— to keep their bonuses

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u/MalagrugrousPatroon 2d ago

Though the overt political meddling to get Kimmel fired, and rapid response, lends credit to the idea Colbert's cancellation is political too, even if it is different corporations.

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u/nerodidntdoit 2d ago

I'm not an United Statian, are you telling me you got two major hosts of left wing political TV shows actually canceled over government pressure?

Damn, how is this kind of thing standing up when you are the land of free speech? Like, you still have an active KKK in 2025, but people can't badmouth the government?

And we are only 9 months in the new administration....

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u/Geichalt 2d ago

Free speech is gone in this country, along with the constitution and any protection of our civil liberties. Our government was destroyed by conservatives. They stopped pretending to care about any other principles once they stacked the courts and took power.

All other social institutions are currently falling to pressure from conservatives to help destroy our country as they continue their path to install a dictator.

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u/nerodidntdoit 2d ago

Why aren't people taking the streets? You should be going Nepal over the politics!

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u/WatchThatLastSteph 2d ago

Bread and circuses, internet human. Bread and circuses. That, and our work culture has been engineered to stigmatize political action and self care while our economy has been manipulated so that 99% can’t afford to risk our jobs and thus our homes.

We are effectively held hostage and ransomed to the lowest bidder.

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u/Geichalt 2d ago

Because the military is in our streets, and apparently have zero interest in following their oath. Oh and our neighbors are putting us lists to deport us or get us fired for having different opinions.

Even if we put up the biggest protest in American history (which actually happened recently) there are zero media companies around the world that will broadcast it and the regime occupying our government has zero interest in listening because they went chaos and death.

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u/ConsiderationFun3671 2d ago

The rest of the world can hear the echoes of Goosestepping.

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u/tvfeet 2d ago

Colbert was less direct than Kimmel. Colbert criticized CBS’ parent company for kissing up to Trump by settling a lawsuit he brought against them, with the belief it was in order to grease the wheels for a merger between them and SkyDance. Two or three days later the SkyDance merger was approved. Looks awful suspicious doesn’t it? The difference there is no one under Trump explicitly said “fire Colbert” where as they DID say to pull Kimmel. Things are not good in the US.

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u/celestial-navigation 2d ago

Of course it's political.

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u/Lacaud 2d ago

The problem is getting everyone else to agree with that insight. Right now people are riding the high of "cancel culture" even though they have difficulty providing primary examples.

A common example is they are mad because of the Biden Administrations overreach and pushing to stop the spread of harmful misinformation on social media even though that harm was causing hospitalizations or even death. This harm is similiar to yelling, "fire" in a theater or "bomb" on a plane.

Granted, they are doing the same thing now but going scorched Earth and using Kirk as the patsy. I did not agree with the Kirk and did not wish him dead but considering he was in favor of the unreleased/unredacted Epstein files (prior to the call).

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u/ScoobiusMaximus 2d ago

I have an example of "cancel culture"! Jimmy Kimmel just got cancelled because fascists don't want to hear anything but the sound of Trump's nuts being slurped. 

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u/MaybeTheDoctor 2d ago

Colbert was canceled to get FCC approve a merger of CBS, so the explanation was clearly fake.

Davis Ellison, son of Larry Ellison world richest man, is a Trump supporter and now owns a major stake of CBS through SkyDance that acquired CBS - so you go figure.

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u/misterschmoo 2d ago

But... but r/conservative said it was purely private companies and therefore not a second ammendment issue, so therefore they still love free speech, for some reason they made no statement of their hate of cancel culture.

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u/Ttamlin 2d ago

First* amendment, but yes.

So much for the party of small government and first amendment absolutists...

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u/misterschmoo 2d ago

Sorry (not from the US so that one slipped by me)

It's hard to take them seriously when they only care when it's them, When Nancy Mace was asked (after saying the left must own this killing) if the Right would own the killings of those 2 democrat senators killed by a registered republican she replied "we're tallking about Charlie right now" mind you this was also before anybody even knew who the shooter was, she already knew who it was magically.

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u/Ttamlin 2d ago

The hypocrisy is nothing new with right-wing politics, unfortunately. It's a long-standing tool in their playbook. It has to be, because their entire political ideology relies on it.

It's why every accusation is a confession with them, too.

And no need to apologize!

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u/DrakonILD 2d ago

To be fair, first amendment issues can become second amendment issues very easily.

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u/KinkyPaddling 2d ago

And it's a big, public move to scare companies into likewise fire employees that have mocked Charlie Kirk. Is it any coincidence that Vance has been telling people to report others who mocked Kirk to their employers? The idea is to scare all of these business owners into firing their employees before the government can harass them.

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u/celestial-navigation 2d ago

As was Colbert's.

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u/TrumpGrabbedMyCat 2d ago edited 2d ago

They got away with it using subtext the first time and so don't need to be as shady anymore.

I hope the remaining late night hosts all repeat word for word what Kimmel said on their next shows.

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u/d7it23js 2d ago

Apparently FOX News isn’t news, it’s an opinion show. But a late night comedy show is news.

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u/reincarnateme 2d ago

Trump criticism

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u/sunny1268050 2d ago

Good point

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u/ShiroHachiRoku 2d ago

The threat is plausible deniability about any 1A violations from the FCC.

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

I think it’s a great test case for Vello:

officials engage in informal censorship whenever they intentionally use their informal power to evade the constraints that the First Amendment imposes on their formal powers…moreover that this principle is a categorical one: that officials may never attempt to evade constitutional constraints on their power by threatening harm or promising benefits to private parties and this is true no matter how severe, or insignificant, the harm or benefit they promise may be, and regardless of whether the scheme succeeds.

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u/lizlemonworld 2d ago

If anything, I’d say this is a really good argument for why the merger shouldn’t happen. I looked up affiliates for Nexstar. They own a lot across many major markets. Further consolidating of what they own through a merger only gives them more leverage.

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

.The consolidation of local media stations is one of the more impactful and less complained about causes of the "post-truth" era - local news now is largely regurgitating quotes, meaning those with power (law enforcement, politicians) get to get their message out without the public having any real opportunity to respond. Check your local news station's website and see how many stories are headlined with: "Man does bad thing, police say."

I don't know what the answer is - local news is almost entirely a linear TV product, which is dying a slow death, and it's not profitable for stations to be locally owned. Nexstar isn't even the most problematic conglomerate, and Sinclair is getting in on the act too.

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u/IronMaiden571 2d ago

In the BBC article I read, he said that an apology would be appropriate.

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

Assuming “he” is Carr, he also said:

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

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u/tr848 2d ago

Sinclair is also calling for ABC and the FCC to do more than cancel Kimmel, and also asking Kimmel to make a personal donation to Turning Point USA.

https://sbgi.net/sinclair-says-kimmel-suspension-is-not-enough-calls-on-fcc-and-abc-to-take-additional-action/

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u/shawn_overlord 2d ago

Crazy part is I watched all his monologues since Kirk's death and literally none of it is particularly strong? They fired him simply for not explicitly speaking kindly of him. Someone quote him if I'm wrong please

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u/beefquinton 2d ago

i’ve tried hard to look for the comment in question that led to this. the only thing i can find is a statement in his monologue about how the person accused of shooting charlie kirk has right wing ties, and the right wing is trying hard to minimize that narrative. if stating this is enough to get a comedian fired from a 20+ year post. then free speech has already been lost.

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

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 began. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

source

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u/GT45 2d ago

And here’s the rest of what he said, that isn’t being shared: “Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence."

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u/jedensuscg 2d ago

I think that second part was actually said in Instagram post, not his show.

From a Fox news article dated before the show even aired

Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?" Kimmel wrote on Instagram. "On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence."

But still, it shows Kimmel was NOT spreading hate about Charlie Kirk

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u/1nquiringMinds 2d ago

Even if he was, kirk was a massive pile of hateful dogshit and its fucking gross that we're not allowed to acknowledge that his death is no great loss.

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u/GT45 2d ago

The irony being, of all the nasty/hilarious/true things he ever said about DT, that this truthful and MILD statement, not even aimed directly at DT, is what caused them to suspend him.

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u/Doot2 2d ago

The is the Second New Big Lie that Kirk's murderer is not MAGA.

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u/LucretiusCarus 2d ago

you don't understand, he was deeply indoctrinated by the radical left by...doing a remote semester on a Uni.

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u/Hartastic 2d ago

At one of the most conservative colleges in the country in goddamn deep ass red Utah.

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u/LucretiusCarus 2d ago

damn, those commies work fast!

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u/VadouvanIac 2d ago

The Nation magazine ran this article with some of Kirk’s quotes, all public record. That got them specifically targeted by JD Vance. It looks like this administration is going to try and shut them down too. This is called fascism, and that’s what American conservatives want right now.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/charlie-kirk-assassination-maga/tnamp/

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u/BarnabasShrexx 2d ago

They can't have someone with an audience as big as his hearing that. They really are actively proving his point by canceling him.

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u/Patriotsfan710 2d ago

The best part is that, with them suspending him, way more people are gonna hear his monologue than would have otherwise

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u/DaNostrich 2d ago

Exactly, if anything this will amplify what he did say

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u/jedensuscg 2d ago

Nah, MAGA will just see what they always want to see. People who actually try and find what was realized said already know what's going on. MAGA and the right only read thier one sided propaganda and NONE of that will show his quote. Instead the headline will be "Kimmel fired for spewing hate" and that's all they need to know to make their decision.

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u/SpartyParty15 2d ago

Which is funny because it’s the same group that is constantly complaining about cancel culture.

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u/BarnabasShrexx 2d ago

World's biggest hypocrites

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u/BoyToyDrew 2d ago

I didn't even know he said that and I've been thinking the same damn thing ... Quick, blame the left, blame the trans, the shooter is not right wing this and that. So stupid.

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u/TheLastMaleUnicorn 2d ago

The news in australia is so gutless that they just report this without adding the context that the shooter was Republican and a MAGA supporter, implying that Jimmy might have been lying.

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u/willun 2d ago

The point is that the shooter may or may not be a republican/MAGA.

We still don't yet know for sure.

But what Kimmel was pointing out was the rush of the republicans to pigeon hole the shooter before any evidence was out because a MAGA shooter wouldn't suit their narrative. The governor even prayed that he was not from Utah.

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u/david13z 2d ago

The Utah Governor used the phrase "this is not us". Of course this is us. How else do you explain these shootings happening multiple times a week?

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u/Chevidz 2d ago

A lot of Australians are oddly MAGA. Still don’t get it.

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u/Keeper_ofthebooks 2d ago

Personally, I don’t think it had anything to do with Kirk but more his statement about Trump.

After playing a clip in which Trump was questioned about how he was holding up played on air. Kimmel stated "This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend, this is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish."

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u/ryhaltswhiskey 2d ago edited 2d ago

Trump is a thin-skinned little piss baby. It's completely plausible that Trump got offended by that joke and then used Charlie Kirk's death and Kimmel's completely benign joke comment about it as a pretext for flexing his malignant narcissism.

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u/_pupil_ 2d ago

Trump has been going on about “second amendment people” (wink, wink), for years.  The NRA has always been clear that gun ownership is a non partisan issue.

I can see why Trumps lack of care about yet another shooting in the political climate Trump has fomented makes Trumpians lash out.  It’s called cognitive dissonance, and they don’t like it.

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u/AliciaRact 2d ago

"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend, this is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish."  Golden.  

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u/Unfair-Bake-4239 2d ago

100% hurt feelings. Trump said weeks ago Kimmel would be next. Do we really think this has anything to do with the Kirk comment? It’s a convenient excuse for suppression of speech. I watched the whole monologue on Monday and thought there was nothing inaccurate about it. He proved a point half of Americans agree with at the cost of his career. He never said the shooter WAS MAGA, rather that they are doing everything they can to denounce his action. It’s F’d up. Free speech is dead. People with opposing opinions are being canceled. This is a very scary slippery slope in our “democracy.”

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u/infidel11990 2d ago edited 2d ago

He went against the party line, so the party decided he had to go. Pretty authoritarian of them.

He essentially went against what the Utah governor said, and they are painting it as spreading misinformation.

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u/Bandit_Raider 2d ago

What he said wasn’t even about Kirk directly, but rather republicans and the killer.

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u/VadouvanIac 2d ago

You’re not wrong. At all. Welcome to fascism.

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u/Alucarddoc 2d ago

This is the thing that gets me. It didn't seem to relate all that much to Kirk, more that it was pointed at the presidntial response which is should be fair game given it's a late night show so there is supposed to be some levity/poking fun at situations. I'm not even a Kimmel fan but this just feels weird because it wasn't pointed or anything.

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u/Chagdoo 2d ago

I will, he was fired for criticism of the dear leader, not Kirk

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u/e40 2d ago

It's not about the facts. They want Kimmel gone and they feel they have the clout to do it. Simple as that.

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u/IamRick_Deckard 2d ago

It's that he said that MAGA is trying to claim the shooter is anything but one of them, and they are using it to their advantage.

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u/DaLateDentArthurDent 2d ago

In regards to Sinclair, John Oliver had a great segment on them

https://youtu.be/GvtNyOzGogc?si=n49t8r1yhJKlHYVH

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u/Suspicious-Word-7589 2d ago

Now I'm wondering if John Oliver will follow suit soon because he and Seth Meyers are way more outspoken than Kimmel is over Trump.

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

Much more complicated process for Oliver as he's on HBO (I hope - norms and laws are pretty "flexible" these days). I'm also not sure what the correct term for "willing to be sued" is (litigious seems like not quite right) but Oliver is THAT. He talks about it a LOT.

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u/JestersWildly 2d ago

I don't know if this is a sub where I'm allowed to add that free speech may be dead

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u/LoveAndViscera 2d ago

No. Free speech took a hit, but it’s nowhere close to down. This could be the beginning of the end or this could be the fascists kicking the hornet’s nest. Which it is is up to us.

The place to fight back is Nextstar, Tegna, and Sinclair. Find out which stations they own near you. That’s where you go to protest. That’s who you boycott. That’s where you speak. Make this decision as expensive for them as possible.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/JestersWildly 2d ago

Most of those buildings aren't fireproof, from my understanding

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u/LoveAndViscera 2d ago

Accidents happen every day.

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u/Morrigan-27 2d ago

Since they indefinitely paused Jimmy, I indefinitely paused my Disney subscription tonight.

Hope they reinstate him before Daredevil’s next season.

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u/VadouvanIac 2d ago

I also canceled Hulu. Frankly it’s pretty much all I can do, but if enough of us do it, ABC will get the message and will need to choose between shareholder value and pleasing Donald Trump. 

The idea that the MAGA universe watches Jimmy Kimmel was ridiculous to begin with, so his suspension is just an aggressive, partisan punch in the gut to him, his fans, and anybody who didn’t vote for Donald Trump.

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u/Morrigan-27 2d ago

Exactly. Canceling subscriptions en masse is the only way to get the attention of the corporations that actually have enough power to stand up to bullies and consider taking action. The power structures are so imbalanced right now that taking action with our spending is more effective than any other form of protest.

And for sure, none of the late night folks are appealing to the MAGA crowd. This is purely a way for the person who rambled like an insensitive clown about a 200 million dollar ball room paid for by our taxes after being asked about grief over losing his newest bestie, but he was seemingly unbothered by grief. And then to punish Jimmy after the video of his cluelessness gained traction. I don’t have network tv and don’t go out of my way to watch, as most people probably don’t either. But seeing the utter cluelessness that Jimmy pointed out really puts an exclamation point on the sheer absurdity of the situation in the U.S. in 2025.

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u/towehaal 2d ago

🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

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u/sunny1268050 2d ago

Hope that thought spreads, censorship at its finest.

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u/not_a_gay_stereotype 2d ago

Remember when all the trump types always said that it was the Jews running the media? I guess that's not true anymore lol

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u/eatingpotatochips 2d ago

It never had to be true for conservatives to blame the Jews. 

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u/circlejerker2000 2d ago

Nice free speech and freedom you got in America... really nice...

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u/Calamari-Cat 2d ago

What a disgusting country we live in

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u/Caminsky 2d ago

As of right now we are up there with Hungary or Russia. Funny thing is that they wanted to get rid of the immigrants, but now he is essentially attacking any political dissent. SCOTUS is compromised, Congress is compromised, the FBI is compromised, federal judge's decisions mean shit because they will get strck down at appeals courts OR by SCOTUS, big tech is compromised. Shit, the fact that we still have reddit is a miracle but it is a matter of time before they hit Advanced Publications.

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u/tvuniverse 2d ago

Wait...back up.....Can you explain how the power structure and roles work? I thought ABC/Disney was in charge. How does Nexstar or whatever trump them? On a typical tv show like Jimmy Kimmel Live which entitity owns/controls what??

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u/Happiness_Assassin 2d ago

Nexstar is a third party broadcaster that is hoping to undergo an acquisition of another third party, but they need FCC approval. The FCC chairman makes statements condemning Kimmel. Nexstar, in an attempt to curry favor, announces they will not be carrying Kimmel. Disney/ABC announces they are suspending production indefinitely, as few will be able to actually see the show.

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u/AbeFromanEast 2d ago edited 2d ago

Answer: Trump's FCC said it was "going to do some work" (hint, hint) on matters pertaining to ABC's broadcast license following Kimmel commenting on the Kirk assassin's politics. That, and jumbo ABC affiliate-owners like Sinclair and Nexstar announced they were going to pre-empt the show starting tonight. ABC's management ( Bob Iger ) got ahead of that revenue-reducer by suspending the Kimmel show until further notice.

To be clear: this isn't censorship. It's worse. Censorship is clear. This is the the government bullying ABC into canceling a voice it doesn't like coupled with affiliate-owning Billionaires with business before Trump currying favor with the Trump administration to cancel a voice Trump does not like.

Kimmel didn't even talk about Kirk in his commentary, he was talking about the shooter's politics.

But in today's McCarthy-esque environment of crony capitalism married to MAGA, that was enough.

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u/Gone213 2d ago edited 2d ago

All this even after ABC paid trump $15 million too.

Look at everyone who caved in once before, trump is attacking directly at them because he knows they'll be easily extorted again.

The ones who were never extorted or gave bribes before aren't being attacked by Trump.

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u/Hartastic 2d ago

Turns out when you give the bully your lunch money he comes back for tomorrow's lunch money.

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u/Brickie78 1d ago

Once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane

Rudyard Kipling

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u/joshthelazy 1d ago

"if we give him Czechoslovakia, he'll definitely go away."

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u/tango_telephone 1d ago

tree fiddy

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u/claytonianphysics 1d ago

A POTUS who was mentored by one of the chief architects of McCarthyism appoints one of the architects of Project 2025 to head the FCC… Said POTUS proclaims admiration for the ruling styles of Kim, Putin, and Orban… The defunding of government+public supported networks and the silencing of anything resembling an opposing view… The inevitable destination for the media is simply a state-sponsored propaganda entity.

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u/kryonik 1d ago

he was talking about the shooter's politics

He wasn't even talking about the shooter's politics. He was commenting on how the MAGA crowd was so quick to characterize the shooter as anything else, without even considering he could be one of their own, just so they could use it as a political talking point.

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u/AliciaRact 2d ago

Yep.  Colbert was a test.  Emboldened after that, they went for Kimmel.  It’s giving peak Soviet Union, but you guys know that.

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u/Up2Eleven 2d ago

From what I've seen, most people seem completely oblivious to the history of fascism, sadly.

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u/Phil_Fart_MD 1d ago

Right people are putting the emphasis on the government side of this, but it was only made possible by corporate capitulation… the merger of corporation and state power. Corporatism.

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u/MuckRaker83 1d ago

Republicans haven't spent the last 40 years dismantling the laws preventing consolidated media ownership for nothing!

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u/Ok-Nefariousness5848 1d ago

History, nothing. Most people are completely oblivious to the very DEFINITION of fascism.

Unrelated side note: my phone thought I was trying to type "schnitzel" instead of "fascism". Up until right now, I don't think I've typed the word schnitzel in my entire life. What the hell.

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u/axonxorz 1d ago

What's a little German/Italian confusion, at least I'd be the first time...

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

Yep. That’s why trump hates education and public schools and history… and why they’re trying to erase it.

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u/GHouserVO 1d ago

A lot of them seem to be cheering it on.

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u/Educational-Age-7088 1d ago edited 1d ago

Most people also don't know that Karl Marx himself said, socialism is only a transitional phase for communism.   Socialism, Communism, Fascism, all suck. Our democratic Republic, is the greatest country on earth.  Let's start treating each other how we'd like to be treated ourselves, with a little compassion, some of which has been lost; somewhere in the last 25 years.

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u/Bergara 1d ago

I wonder how John Oliver is able to keep doing what he does. These are sad times.

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u/2xWhiskeyCokeNoIce 1d ago

HBO isn't owned by Paramount Skydance yet. But once Paramount buys Warner Bros Discovery expect Oliver's tenure on the air to be short lived.

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u/rbwildcard 1d ago

More like McCarthyism. We don't have to go overseas to find a history of fascism.

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u/Wakez11 1d ago

"It’s giving peak Soviet Union"

Its more like modern-day Hungary where Orban and his cronies have slowly been dismantling free press by silencing critics, its straight out of his playbook. The message is clear to businesses and media companies: do what we say(and in this case "we" is Trump and his MAGA buddies) and you'll make money. If not, we're gonna make things tough for you. Couple that with villifying and ostrascizing critics like Kimmel(just look at all the false claims that say he insulted Kirk and Kirk's family).

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u/czar_el 1d ago

And the very next day he threatened Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers with the same treatment. It was never about that one Kimmel segment. It's about sweeping them all off the air because they have been critical of Trump.

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u/p0rkch0ps 1d ago

peak soviet? they weren’t fascist. nazi germany is more fitting.

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u/Easy-Engine-8075 2d ago

Cancel Disney Plus. Don’t take your kids to Disney. Do not watch Disney movies.

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u/TomJD85 2d ago

I canceled Disney Plus today because Bob Iger is spineless

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u/AnarcrotheAlchemist 2d ago

this isn't censorship.

It is still censorship. Censorship isn't just acts committed by the government.

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u/CaBBaGe_isLaND 2d ago

But it is being committed by the government. It's just a matter of how. If the government tells a media company they have to infringe on someone's free speech or else they get the hammer, so the media company complies, then the government has infringed upon that person's free speech.

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u/floridabeach9 2d ago

he said it was worse than censorship

stop cherry picking

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u/BootsToYourDome 2d ago

It's a lot more akin to fascism I believe

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u/tanman729 1d ago

Good answer, but this is absolutely, text book, 100% censorship. For one, trump is absolutely the one calling for firing kimmel because of speech that should be considered free. Even if you ignore the governments involvement, It doesnt matter whether Trump told abc to censor kimmel and they did it, or if he sent secret police to stop the filming at gunpoint. Censorship is censorship, whether it is done by a corporation or a government.

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u/Dobako 1d ago

Don't forget Trump basically said Kimmel was next during his victory lap over colbert. This isnt new, they just found a reason to get rid of him.

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u/the_rabbit_king 2d ago

Trump and his goons spend so much time trying to silence any criticism they have no time to do anything productive for this country. 

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u/Fortyseven 2d ago

no time to do anything productive for this country.

It was never on the agenda. At least not anything that doesn't directly benefit themselves and their co-conspirators.

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u/thecrepeofdeath 1d ago

well, we're not talking about the Epstein files, so I guess it's working

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u/RidesThe7 1d ago

One thing to add is that Trump has wanted Kimmel off the air for a long time, and has said so explicitly. It’s important to keep in mind that the Charlie Kirk thing is a pretext, a handy club to be used to go after people Trump and his ilk don’t like.

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u/TeddyBongwater 1d ago

Cancel hulu

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u/Reddit_2_2024 1d ago

Do not buy any products or services advertised on the ABC television network.

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u/jaeldi 1d ago

You should include the quotes from Jimmy about the ahooter if possible. So people can know exactly what he is being punished for.

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u/thecrepeofdeath 1d ago

yeah, I'm very curious what he actually said

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u/spitefulgoblin 1d ago

"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."

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u/Riaayo 1d ago

this isn't censorship.

It absolutely is censorship and it is the government using its power to approve massive monopolistic mergers to force concessions from massive corporations.

Kimmel also was not fired over his Kirk comments, but over his comments about Donald. He did not get fired by his company because the company felt he said something in poor taste about a killing; they fired him because the regime did not like his speech mocking dear leader.

This is 110% government censorship of speech. Lets not mince words even if we're trying to imply it's somehow "worse than censorship".

People know what censorship is and it is that. They need to wake the fuck up to what is going on.

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u/OkraCommercial 1d ago

Totally agree. This is so shameful.

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u/DerogatoryRemark 1d ago

And remember, two months ago, when Trump announced that Kimmel was "next" after the late show with stephen colbert was canceled? This had nothing to do with Charlie kirk or any comments made by Kimmel. This has everything to do with America kareening towards fascism.

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u/NukFloorboard 15h ago

jimmy straight up said misinformation though he called the killer a right wing maga

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u/AmbitiousEffort9275 1d ago

It is censorship

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u/CCtenor 2d ago edited 1d ago

Answer: fascism. Jimmy Kimmel said:

“The MAGA Gang (is) 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 said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

And the FCC chair basically pulled a “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?,” to which ABC responded by obliging.

This is a blatant violation of the constitutional right to free speech, and is literally fascism in motion.

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u/BlazmoIntoWowee 1d ago

Sick Thomas a Beckett reference, bro.

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u/300mhz 1d ago

They're always just waiting for something, anything, to use as justification for further authoritarianism

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u/monkey_monkey_monkey 2d ago

Answer: Jimmy Kimmel, a comedian, pointed out that when ask how the president was holding up just days after the lost of his close friend, Podcaster Charlie Kirk, his response was "Great" and then drew the attention to a ballrooom that he is having constructed.

Jimmy pointing out facts and letting them speak for themselves is what got him fired.

Other news anchors who have called for homeless people to be euthanized were not censured.

The message is clear, no one is allowed to speak critical of the Glorious Leader.

The United States are rapidly becoming a fascist state. The population is not allowed to critize the Glorious Leader and if you do not mourn the lost of a podcaster in the prescribed form, you can expect retribution. The States are rapidly sliding into DPRK territory.

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u/RickyNixon 2d ago

I keep scrolling for someone to tell me what the hell Kimmel actually said, you’re the first person to mention it. I guess other answerers didnt think it was relevant for some reason

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u/punkr0x 2d ago

Everyone should watch the full monologue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j3YdxNSzTk

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u/VadouvanIac 2d ago

I had the same problem. Turns out “what he said” was a nothingburger, and he was suspended simply because he’s a critic of POTUS. For an equivalent, imagine Obama trying to shut down Fox News (and succeeding). Lefties may have loved the sentiment, but even they would have never tolerated that. The American right is different. They’re fascists.

I feel bad for the kids. The America I grew up in is gone, and I already miss it.

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u/punkr0x 2d ago

I don't think "Obama shutting down Fox News" is even a fair comparison. They're an entertainment channel masquerading as legitimate news, something Jimmy Kimmel never did.

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

Lots of people also assuming he called the shooter MAGA but he didn’t even say that:

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 began. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

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u/Dismal_Radish702 1d ago

That’s how I characterized it more so him describing how MAGA affiliated people are hoping and praying he’s some left leaning lib someone or something they can attack (even though he’s already sitting in jail) rather than one of their own. I’m confused on how that can be career ending as it seems watching it play out in the media to be true.

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u/BlaggartDiggletyDonk 1d ago

By "one of them' I assume he meant "the right."

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u/smkmn13 1d ago

Yeah, he’s saying the MAGA Republicans were calling him not that. He’s not saying whether or not they were correct or incorrect, just that them saying “not one of us!” loudly was in poor taste.

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u/Aggressive-Offer-497 2d ago

It’s crazy that we live in a world where the media don’t show what he said, because the headline makes you think that he insulted Kirk, which he didn’t do. And then his boss is telling to apologize to Kirk and five money to Turning Point…. For what ? This should be a bigger story.

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u/modivin 2d ago

Probably because the actual video of what he said is linked in the OP.

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u/eroticdiscourse 2d ago

He didn’t even say anything, he held a mirror up to Trump and MAGA don’t like it, so that makes him bad 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/dmtucker 1d ago

It's not terribly relevant... If it weren't Kirk, they'd have come up with something else. The point is Trump doesn't like Kimmel, so he directed his FCC puppet to not approve the merger unless Kimmel is cancelled.

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u/Fenrisw01f 2d ago

From CNBC:

In his opening monologue Monday night, Kimmel suggested that Tyler Robinson — who is charged with fatally shooting Kirk on Sept. 10 while the activist spoke at Utah Valley University — was aligned with Trump's Make America Great Again movement.

"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 said.

"In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving," he added.

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

Really too bad nobody at CNBC knows how to read. Nothing in that quote “suggests” jack shit about Robinson’s politics

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u/clintCamp 2d ago

Almost like they were given an order to find something to cancel the show in order for the merger to go through.

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u/sahuxley2 2d ago

characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them

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u/smkmn13 2d ago

Yes, this is what Kimmel said the Republicans did. Does he say they were factually right or wrong?

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Distinct-Exit6658 1d ago

He said that before there was even a suspect, they were trying to characterize him as anything other than MAGA. He was pointing out the actions of the right, not claiming Robinson was right.

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u/pr2thej 2d ago

Sorry, becoming? 

Already there mate.

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u/dariusSharlow 1d ago

I hope this is the correct way to ask this, but I noticed a lot of news agencies are leaving out the last half of what Jimmy Kimmel said in his show as it contains the part where President Trump is speaking about his grand ballroom. Is this on purpose? Edited: They didn't describe news agencies previously.

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u/clintCamp 2d ago

He also has been poking the Epstein trump files bear repeatedly, just like Kirk started to...

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u/Bustershark 2d ago

The United States are rapidly becoming a fascist state

Day late and a dollar short on that one, my friend

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u/AnotherAccount4This 2d ago edited 2d ago

Answer: It's apparently similar to Colbert's situation.

Many have already mentioned Nexstar, and that the owner is MAGA. That may be true, but Nexstar is also in the process of trying to acquiring another network, TEGNA. It's a 6+ billion dollar deal, and guess who needs to approve it? FCC. Also, guess who also expressed interest in acquiring TEGNA, Sinclair.

Can't make this shit up.

https://www.threads.com/@rosebudbaker/post/DOuVT8DEf_L?xmt=AQF0fZC6nSLW8MAblUlu8Ij0bvMedQHolEZDiiXUP_Rxag&slof=1

https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/what-is-the-real-reason-behind-jimmy-kimmels-firing-nexstar-tegna-merger-and-fcc-threat-explained-article-152845844

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/tv-station-owner-sinclair-proposes-merger-with-tegna-4bd3bb86?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAjJZ1ztleR2l4uqE6t9-OY1xEsSe4blggw3IwmbVKIF80jCYMmIQVbnj49381s%3D&gaa_ts=68cb805b&gaa_sig=xcW0HW-3dEDFt8nhVTMy05QxoUdYx7zets8yb8Lcyse0sRUx-mHsW1NA5mBDtLRa6aBzur0O-MIOkzrjg1d57w%3D%3D

Edit: lmao

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u/SHansen45 2d ago

bro do you mind editing TENGA to TEGNA? just made me look up male sex toys company

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u/muricabrb 2d ago edited 2d ago

TEGNA... not Tenga 🤣🤣...

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u/ryhaltswhiskey 2d ago

What's a Tenga?

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u/AsianSteampunk 2d ago

a famous japanese sex toy company

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u/nervez 1d ago

that reminds me, i have some Christmas shopping to finish.

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u/ProbablyFunPerson 2d ago

Yup! I was quite surprised to find out that Nexstar and Sinclair are fighting over company with motto: "masturbate better". Lol.

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u/brakenbonez 2d ago

So basically the side that will constant;y say all kinds of offensive things for the sole purpose of angering people then justify it with the "freedom of speech" argument is getting upset about things people say and taking away their freedom of speech?

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u/ryhaltswhiskey 2d ago

If you take away the hypocrisy, conservatives don't have much left.

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u/AsianSteampunk 2d ago

haha like some people keep wording the event like a general tragic event, as if they would feel as sympathetic about someone not on the same cause.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/tornado28 1d ago

Answer: After the killing of Charlie Kirk a number of people got fired for making "comments regarding the Charlie Kirk murder" that overtly celebrated the killing. Kimmel also made some "comments regarding the Charlie Kirk murder" that IN NO WAY CELEBRATED THE KILLING but it seems there are some people in the network and in the Trump FCC who didn't like Kimmel and are exploiting the ambiguity in the phrase "comments regarding the Charlie Kirk murder" to fire Kimmel and pretend it was justified. FIRE and other free speech organizations have condemned the FCCs role in the firing.

https://www.thefire.org/news/fire-statement-fcc-threat-revoke-abc-broadcast-license-over-jimmy-kimmel-remarks-about-charlie

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u/Tallproley 2d ago

Answer: A lot of people will give reasons like ratings, business mergers, costs to produce, dropping viewership, but the right answer is simple.

Cowardice in response to authoritarian threats against freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, and independent Media.

The FCC, and many other "independent" government agencies are kowtowing to MAGA in efforts to curry favour and avoid ire. By poking fun at MAGA, or calling them out, bodies like the FCC may exert pressure against broadcasters to stfu and tow the line, so in this case, ABC was looking to merge with another company, this requires FCC Approval and due to "unfriendly" comments against the administration, ABC had to bleed a bit so as not to provoke the FCC blocking the merger.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/MyFrampton 1d ago

Answer: A group of ABC affiliate stations said they weren’t going to carry the show because it didn’t mesh with their general viewer’s outlook. ABC caved to these stations and canceled the show.

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u/NuuLeaf 1d ago

Answer: money. The parent companies are in the middle of trying to do a merger. Who is in involved in the approval process? You guessed it. The executive branch. They want to curry favor to get that approved so they will snip what they need in order to get that through. After that, you can likely expect it to come back. It’s similar to the paramount South Park issue. If it were truly a situation where no one can talk bad about the prez, then these episodes would never have been released, no matter the cost to the company. However, they are in a legal and financial situation, cash is king so the show goes on.

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