By Manjot Kaur

After close to two decades of laughs, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was off-air and fans were in disbelief. It all started with one episode during which Kimmel very briefly discussed the assasination of Charlie Kirk’s death and the reactions surrounding it. 

I watched the video after it had been announced that the Jimmy Kimmel show was canceled, and I can’t see anything wrong with what Mr. Kimmel spoke about. I had to watch it a few times to see if there was maybe something I was missing. Mr. Kimmel was very respectful when referring to Kirk’s death, he never once spoke ill of Charlie Kirk, nor did he even agree with the assassination. Instead, the majority of what he said was in reference to President Trump’s comments about it. In fact, when Kimmel responded to some reported reactions cheering about Kirk’s death, Kimmel said, “Some people are cheering this, which is something I won’t ever understand.” 

Kimmel went on to discuss President Trump’s poor response in regards to the assasination, and mentioned how multiple former presidents had expressed their condolences for Kirk’s death while President Trump seemed to focus more on blaming the Democrats for their rhetoric.

It seems that ABC canceling the show had less to do with what Kimmel said about Charlie Kirk, and more about what he said about President Trump. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcasting license in response to the Jimmy Kimmel episode. In a much replayed response, Carr said, “I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way” referencing how he would deal with ABC.

 Many in the general public were furious with the chairman’s sudden involvement. Free speech advocates and Democrats alike argued against the seemingly unlawful prejudice against Kimmel. Critics believed that the government has no place in censoring political speech of any US citizen, and especially should not control media outlets to this degree. 

Mr. Kimmel was unashamed in the way he ridiculed President Trump’s reaction. It has become a common thread within President Trump’s presidency to try to silence critics of his administration. The cancellation of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was a clear result of the Trump administration’s pressure on media outlets for allowing him to be criticized. 

After his show was reinstated, Mr. Kimmel thanked those who supported him and those who didn’t, and made clear that he never meant any harm towards Kirk and his family. He spoke about the importance of having late night talk shows like his where people can express their thoughts freely, and he addressed his audience about the importance of freedom of speech–even when we don’t agree. He emphasized that it’s important to understand that people with those beliefs still deserve to have the option to be heard. 

All in all, I’m glad to see that freedom of speech won this battle. I can’t imagine Mr. Kimmel’s feelings when his show first got taken down. To have your freedom of speech taken so quickly is a terrifying thought that no one, whether you’re politically right-leaning or left-leaning, should have to experience. Mr. Kimmel dealt with this whole situation very humbly. He said, “This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.” 

It was so refreshing to see a prominent figure speak out not only against the actions taken under President Trump’s presidency, but also the government officials around the United States throughout the years. A person should never be silenced when speaking up against what they believe in, and that is exactly the point that Mr. Kimmel makes.