Megyn Kelly slams Trump over calls to fire Jimmy Kimmel: ‘Very inappropriate’
Jimmy Kimmel has another free speech defender: Megyn Kelly, who sharply criticized Donald Trump’s demands for Disney and ABC to fire the late-night host over Kimmel’s roast of Melania Trump because she has “the glow of an expectant widow.”
Kelly, op Thursday’s episode of her podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show” said she thought Kimmel’s joke was “out of line.” She also said that “ABC has set the rules for how we engage in cancel culture. They have a lot of examples. They have a lot of scalps on the wall.” For example, ABC canceled Roseanne Barr’s sitcom in 2018 after Barr posted a comment on Twitter referring to former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett as the offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.” (Barr had apologized for the tweet.)
Kelly continued, “And if we’re following ABC/Disney standards, then that’s not good news for Jimmy. You know, the standard has to be applied even if the person offended is a Republican. But of course ABC doesn’t really work that way.”
That said, however, Kelly believed that it was wrong for Trump to demand that private companies fire workers, especially over free speech issues.
“He just retweeted today that he wants Kimmel fired,” Kelly said. “It is deeply inappropriate. The President of the United States should not be calling on any private company to lay off employees, especially over freedom of speech.”
Trump reiterated his call for ABC and Disney to fire Kimmel on Thursday morning. “When will ABC Fake News Network fire the seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently chairs one of the lowest-rated shows on television?” Trump raged in a post on his Truth Social account. “People are angry. It better be quick!!! President DJT.”
It’s worth noting that Trump recently accused Kelly, along with other conservative influencers including Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, of opposing the Trump-led war on Iran. Trump called them “NUT JOBS” and “PROBLEM MAKERS” with “Low IQs,” who have “Third Rate Podcasts.”
Meanwhile, on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” On Thursday, Meryl Streep appeared on the show and sang Kimmel’s praises in light of Trump’s bullying. “You’re a prince. You’re a Templar,” Streep said. “You carry the banner of press freedom.”
Amid Trump’s agitation over Kimmel’s impeachment, the FCC this week issued an unprecedented order, forcing Disney’s ABC to reapply for spectrum licenses for its eight owned-and-operated stations on an accelerated schedule. Trump-appointed FCC chairman Brendan Carr denied that the agency was pressured by the White House on the matter. Carr stood by the FCC’s official position that the ABC license review is related to the agency’s investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices and not because of “speech.”
Last fall, Carr had threatened that ABC affiliates could be subject to “news distortion” investigations if they broadcast “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” wouldn’t drop, after Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Curtis LeGeyt, head of the National Association of Broadcasters, called the FCC’s review of ABC’s licenses “almost unprecedented” and said the order violated established principles of “predictability, fairness and transparency.” When asked about this at a press conference on Thursday, Carr referred to religious broadcasters’ objections to the Kimmel joke. “NAB is going to say what NAB is going to say, I get it… I think Disney is a member of NAB. But the broadcasters don’t all agree with NAB on this,” Carr said. “We have the National Religious Broadcasters filing a petition with the FCC calling on the FCC to take action against Disney” regarding Kimmel’s Melania joke.
Kimmel’s joke during the broadcast of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on April 23 included a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner in which he said Melania had the glow of a “widow-to-be.” That came two days before the real WHCD, in which an armed man stormed through a security checkpoint before being apprehended (and subsequently charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump).
On Monday, Kimmel defended his joke about Melania, saying it was “about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than me” and that “it was in no way a call for murder. And they know that.” Kimmel said, “I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject,” adding in a comment addressed to the First Lady, “And I think a good time to dial that back would be to talk to your husband about it.”
