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The ABC television network faced backlash after announcing the cancellation of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on September 17, citing remarks made by host Jimmy Kimmel following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The decision led to public protests and subscription cancellations for Disney Plus and Hulu. ABC later reversed its decision, restoring Kimmel’s show to its original timeslot on September 23.
The United Church of Christ’s Media Justice Ministry expressed concern over statements made by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr prior to Kimmel’s dismissal. In an interview with commentator Benny Johnson, Carr stated: “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney (ABC’s parent company). We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Disney needs to see some change here, but the individual licensed stations that are taking their content, it’s time for them to step up and say this, you know, garbage to the extent that that’s what comes down the pipe in the future isn’t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities.”
Following Carr's comments, Nexstar Media Group Inc. announced it would stop airing Kimmel's show on its 32 ABC affiliates. Shortly after, ABC decided to cancel the program across all affiliates.
Carr also said his aim was to “reinvigorate the public interest” in broadcasting and empower local stations: “And the public interest means you can’t be running a narrow partisan circus and still meeting your public interest obligations.”
The UCC Media Justice Ministry has a long history of advocating for media accountability. In the late 1950s and 1960s, under Rev. Everett Parker's leadership, it challenged WLBT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi, for failing to serve Black residents and censoring civil rights coverage. This led to a landmark legal case establishing individuals' rights to petition the FCC and resulted in WLBT-TV’s license being awarded to an integrated group with a Black station manager.
Over nearly sixty years, UCC Media Justice has continued efforts such as reviewing hiring practices at broadcast stations and opposing media consolidation.
FCC approval remains necessary for major network mergers involving owned stations. Nexstar is currently seeking approval for a $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA Inc., contingent on rule changes regarding station ownership limits. In early 2023, UCC Media Justice and partners successfully advocated against another proposed TEGNA merger with Standard General during President Biden's administration.
In July 2025, around Stephen Colbert’s firing from CBS’ “The Late Show,” Paramount—Colbert’s parent company—received FCC clearance for an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media after making concessions requested by former President Trump’s administration.
FCC Chairman Carr's remarks drew criticism from various political figures. Anna M. Gomez, FCC Commissioner and sole Democrat on the commission, stated: “We cannot allow an inexcusable act of political violence to be twisted into a justification for government censorship and control... This FCC does not have the authority, the ability or the constitutional right to police content or punish broadcasters for speech the government dislikes. If it were to take the unprecedented step of trying to revoke broadcast licenses... it would run headlong into the First Amendment and fail in court on both the facts and the law. But even the threat to revoke a license is no small matter... When corporations surrender in the face of that pressure, they endanger not just themselves, but the right to free expression for everyone in this country. The duty to defend the First Amendment does not rest with government, but with all of us...”
Gomez will receive UCC Media Justice’s Newton N. Minow Award at its annual Everett C. Parker Awards Breakfast on October 30 at First Congregational UCC in Washington; this event will be livestreamed.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs Senate oversight of the FCC, compared Carr's comments to those of organized crime: “That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it.’” While Cruz supported Kimmel's removal from airwaves personally, he added: “if government gets in the business of saying ‘We don’t like what you... have said... we’re going to ban you from airwaves if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives.”
Charlie Kirk had previously voiced support for broad free speech protections under American law before his death: “Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And all of it is protected by the First Amendment.”
UCC Media Justice continues its advocacy efforts around media accountability and freedom of expression as debates continue about regulation and consolidation within American broadcasting.
