Jimmy Kimmel has been made a clear example of how America is changing and evolving for the worse. As I am sure you have heard, Jimmy Kimmel’s statement regarding Charlie Kirk’s death on Sept. 15 led to his removal from the air. What exactly was Kimmel trying to say? Why was he taken off the show for it, and what makes this so terrifying?
Jimmy Kimmel opened up his show, saying, “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 tries to argue here that right-winged critics were trying to frame Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old suspect, as someone who isn’t “MAGA.” Kimmel went further, saying, “the man who said he ‘wouldn’t mind’ if someone shot through the fake news media; the man who unleashed a mob on the Capitol and said Liz Cheney should face ‘nine barrels shooting at her’ for supporting his opponent, blames the ‘radical left’ for their rhetoric.”
What happened following this was the cancellation of many Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN subscriptions. Disney+ is reported to have lost upwards of 1.7 million subscribers, and these were recorded between September 17th and 23rd, a week after Kirk’s assassination. This suspension sparked a massive backlash, with labor unions and media outlets denouncing that they believed this to be a government-imposed censorship. Candace Owens, a very close friend of Charlie Kirk, commented on what happened to Kimmel in a YouTube video. She says, “Do you understand? We never should be applauding federal action when it comes to speech.” Owens points out that each time we are angry at each other, we only give the government more power. The one thing that we should be worried about is the attack on our freedom of speech, which is exactly what happened to Kimmel. Fighting each other, we forget the larger power above us.
Why is what happened to Jimmy Kimmel so worrisome?
In the months leading up to his death, Charlie Kirk had publicly begun to question his longstanding support for Israel— a shift that did not go unnoticed by any means. While the circumstances surrounding his assassination remain under investigation, the incident involving Kimmel has now reignited conversation about public figures who challenge prevailing narratives. While what happened to Jimmy Kimmel may seem like a media decision on the surface, and that this isn’t the first time a late-night talk show host has found themselves at the center of controversy, his sudden removal from the air raises deep concerns. When high-profile figures — especially those who once seemed culturally untouchable — begin to face serious consequences for their speech, it invites a troubling question: are we entering an era where freedom of speech is becoming conditional, even for those with historically protected platforms?