Kimmel pulls Talarico interview after FCC threat

ABC late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel said an interview he conducted with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico will not air on broadcast because of what he called threats issued to his network by President Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Kimmel told his audience he has interviewed candidates for office in election years for decades, including Trump himself on more than one occasion “without any issue.”

“But now that he’s president, something has changed,” the ABC host continued. “His FCC has threatened me, threatened my show, threatened our network … based on simple editorial decisions.”

With ABC’s local stations, particularly in Texas, in mind, Kimmel said his conversation with Talarico will be published in its entirety on the show’s YouTube channel instead.

“And thank goodness we have that, because in the America we live in right now that is the best that we can do,” he said. “Until November, of course. Make sure you register to vote.”

The decision came as ABC and its parent company Disney are suing the FCC on First Amendment grounds over its move to call several of its local affiliates up for early license renewal .

The agency contends that the decision was part of its sweeping investigation into Disney’s diversity hiring practices, while FCC Chair Brendan Carr has questioned whether ABC is using federally regulated airwaves to serve the “public interest.”

Carr has called for ABC to fire Kimmel over jokes he made about the assassination of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk a year ago, and he suggested daytime and late-night talk programs like “The View” and Kimmel’s show are not “bona fide news programs” and might not be subject to First Amendment protections.