Former President Barack Obama has stepped back into the spotlight to complain about what he calls “cancel culture,” this time over the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program. His timing is curious, considering Kimmel’s removal came only after he spread outright disinformation about the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
On X, Obama claimed, “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.” He added, “This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
Obama’s framing attempts to cast Kimmel as a victim, but the reality is more complicated. Kimmel’s suspension followed his Monday night monologue in which he accused conservatives of being tied to Kirk’s killer. “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 claimed. His words weren’t presented as a joke or satire. They were delivered as fact.
That kind of reckless rhetoric, broadcast over public airwaves granted free of charge to ABC, runs headlong into longstanding FCC requirements. As FCC Chairman Brendan Carr noted, Kimmel’s remarks were “truly sick” and put ABC and its parent company Disney at risk of consequences, including possible action against their license. Broadcasters have a duty to inform, not mislead, the public. That principle is rooted not in censorship, but in common-sense protections tied to the privilege of using the public’s airwaves.
Nexstar president Andrew Alford echoed this concern, calling Kimmel’s comments “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.” Alford explained that the program would be replaced until “cooler heads prevail.” The decision reflected not just politics, but a recognition that Americans deserve better than baseless smears in place of responsible dialogue.
The facts themselves undercut Kimmel’s claims. Relatives of the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, indicated Robinson held left-leaning views, disliked Kirk, and was in a relationship with a transgender roommate who “hates conservatives and Christians.” Yet Kimmel pushed a false story that placed blame squarely on Trump supporters, fueling division and dishonesty in an already volatile moment.
Kimmel has so far refused to apologize on air, and ABC, with pressure mounting, chose to suspend the show “indefinitely.” This marks a sharp break from the network’s pattern of looking the other way, even as Kimmel’s ratings languished.
The political fallout has been swift. President Donald Trump celebrated the suspension on Truth Social: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.” He didn’t stop there, adding, “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. reminded critics who decried the move as censorship that this was not “cancel culture” but “consequence culture.” When public figures repeatedly mislead and slander others, there are consequences — and this time, the consequences finally caught up to Jimmy Kimmel.
Obama’s intervention suggests a deeper divide over what free speech means in practice. Conservatives argue that speech carries responsibility, especially when broadcast over the nation’s airwaves. The left, however, often applies selective outrage — cheering when conservative voices are silenced, then crying foul when one of their own faces accountability. This episode has become another chapter in the larger cultural fight: one side pushing for common-sense accountability, the other insisting that even reckless falsehoods deserve protection.
For many Americans, this is less about Kimmel and more about fairness. If Roseanne Barr, Tim Allen, and Gina Carano could be swiftly cast aside for far less, why should a network darling like Jimmy Kimmel get a pass? The answer, as Obama’s comments reveal, is that the left views consequences for its own allies as “coercion,” while conservatives see it as a long-overdue step toward restoring standards.
In the end, Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension is not just a television story. It’s a test of whether America still values truth, accountability, and the integrity of its public discourse — or whether some voices will always be shielded under the guise of free speech while others are silenced without hesitation.
Obama nobody Cares about about what you have to Open your sewer mouth you filthy Pervert
who cares what this tird colored ahole thinks !!!