The U.S. telecommunications regulator, the FCC, ordered the Disney group today to submit a license renewal application for its local ABC stations, anticipating the planned schedule by several years.
This request comes amid a controversy between the Trump couple and Jimmy Kimmel, with the presidential couple demanding the exit of this ABC host over a joke they labeled an “invitation to violence.” The FCC did not justify its decision in the administrative notice. When contacted by the French news agency AFP, the agency did not respond to a request for comment.
Disney indicated to AFP that it had received the FCC’s request and said it was “confident” that its “service records” would demonstrate that it has “the qualifications for these licenses.” These licenses were initially scheduled to expire between 2028 and 2031 under the ordinary process, which would have required a renewal application at that time.
U.S. President Donald Trump demanded on Monday that ABC immediately fire host Jimmy Kimmel, accusing him of making a “vile invitation to violence” with a joke directed at First Lady Melania Trump.
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“This went too far. Jimmy Kimmel must be fired immediately by Disney and ABC,” the president wrote, criticizing comments made by the comedian, who, on last week’s show, described the First Lady as “radiant as a future widow.”
Melania Trump also urged ABC to take action following the remarks made by Jimmy Kimmel during his monologue on Thursday, in which he referenced the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which she considers “hateful and violent rhetoric.” In a message on the social network X, the First Lady indicated that the station should intervene regarding this type of content.
The host parodied the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on his show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, two days before the event, as if he were the comedian chosen to entertain the guests, including President Trump, Melania, and senior cabinet officials.
The President, the First Lady, and other officials had to be evacuated on Saturday night after an armed man breached the security barrier of the Washington hotel where the event was taking place and began firing shots toward the door where the dinner was being held.
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Among the jokes, Kimmel alluded to the First Lady with an ironic comparison and poked fun at the President regarding an AI-generated image he had shared on social media and later deleted after receiving criticism.
In her statement, Melania Trump claimed that the show’s content “is not comedy” and accused the comedian of contributing to “deepening the political division in the United States.”
She also stated that figures like Kimmel “should not have access to American homes every night to disseminate hate messages.” Melania Trump called Kimmel a coward, adding that he “hides behind ABC because he knows the station will continue to protect him.”
“How many more times will ABC’s management allow Kimmel’s deplorable behavior at the expense of our community?” she questioned.
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A major star of late-night shows, Jimmy Kimmel provoked the ire of the American right last September, which accused him of politically exploiting the murder of pro-Trump influencer Charlie Kirk. Owned by Disney, ABC suspended the host at that time.
This suspension had been publicly suggested by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by Donald Trump, who in March threatened to revoke licenses for certain channels for “distorting” information and “promoting false theories.” To avoid that outcome, he called on them to “correct course,” considering that “the general public [had] lost confidence in the traditional media.”
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However, facing criticism and accusations of censorship, the station brought the host back a week after his resignation.
On his show this Monday, Kimmel did not apologize and said the “very pleasant joke” was an allusion to the age difference between the presidential spouses and the First Lady’s frequently severe face, but not an appeal to violence.
