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ABC pulls 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' amid regulatory threats

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Unions claim suspension attacks free speech rights

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Trump administration pressures broadcasters over Kimmel's

comments

(Releads with Democratic lawmakers calling for FCC chairman's

resignation)

By Dawn Chmielewski

Sept 18 (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers and Hollywood

writers and actors condemned what they called an attack on free

speech led by U.S. President Donald Trump after talk-show host

Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air for comments about the

murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

ABC, the broadcaster owned by Walt Disney ( DIS ), said on

Wednesday it was yanking "Jimmy Kimmel Live" indefinitely. At

least one local TV station affiliate had said it would replace

the show on its airwaves, and the nation's top communications

regulator threatened to investigate Kimmel's commentary about

Kirk, a prominent Trump ally.

The late-night host, a frequent Trump critic, said on his

show on Monday that Kirk's allies were using his assassination

to "score political points". Kirk, 31, was shot onstage as he

debated students at a university in Utah on Sept. 10.

Leaders of the Democratic minority in the U.S. House of

Representatives said Trump and his Republican Party were

mounting an assault on free speech rights guaranteed in the U.S.

Constitution's First Amendment.

In the Democrats' joint statement, they accused TV

networks of cowardice and Brendan Carr, the chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission appointed by Trump, of a

"corrupt abuse of power."

"He has disgraced the office he holds by bullying ABC, the

employer of Jimmy Kimmel, and forcing the company to bend the

knee to the Trump administration," their statement said.

In the week since Kirk's murder, Kimmel is the most famous

American to face professional blowback for making comments seen

by conservatives as speaking ill of Kirk, alongside media

figures, academic workers, teachers and corporate employees.

Writers' and actors' labor unions said the move amounted to

an attack on constitutionally protected free-speech rights,

saying ABC should not have caved in the face of U.S. government

pressure.

"What we have signed on to - painful as it may be at times -

is the freeing agreement to disagree," the Writers Guild of

America West and Writers Guild of America East said in a joint

statement. "Shame on those in government who forget this

founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you

rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world."

A 22-year-old suspect has been charged with Kirk's murder,

and his precise motive remains unclear. Kirk's death spurred an

outpouring of grief among fans while also galvanizing some

prominent right-wing supporters to target people who were

critical of Kirk's views or joked about his killing.

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors, condemned the

scrapping of the show, saying "the decision to suspend airing

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the type of suppression and retaliation

that endangers everyone's freedoms." Actor Ben Stiller wrote

"this isn't right" in a social media post.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull licenses from

television stations and has pressured broadcasters to stop

airing content he finds objectionable. He has also trained his

ire on print media with the filing of a $15 billion defamation

lawsuit against the New York Times.

Earlier on Wednesday, Carr had urged local broadcasters to

stop airing the show. Kimmel, who has frequently targeted Trump

on his late-night comedy show, did not respond to a request for

comment.

ABC pulled the show after Nexstar Media Group ( NXST ),

which owns 32 ABC affiliates, said it would stop airing the show

following Kimmel's September 10 comments, when he suggested that

"the MAGA gang" was "doing everything they can to score

political points" off of Kirk's assassination. He also

criticized Trump's mourning, comparing it to "how a

four-year-old mourns a goldfish."

Shares of Disney ( DIS ) traded down nearly 1% after the market

opened on Thursday, suggesting investors did not think the

Kimmel news would damage the company's financial prospects too

much.

Carr, in Wednesday remarks to conservative podcaster Benny

Johnson, said "we can do this the easy way or the hard way,"

suggesting the regulator could open investigations and

broadcasters could face fines. He praised Nexstar, saying that

"it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney ( DIS )

programming that they determine falls short of community

values."

The American Federation of Musicians said that "Trump's FCC

identified speech it did not like and threatened ABC with

extreme reprisals. This is state censorship."