The Federal Communications Commission filed an order Tuesday to review Disney’s ABC broadcast licenses, pressing the media conglomerate after First Lady Melania Trump blasted a joke made by late night host Jimmy Kimmel in which he said the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow” days before a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Kimmel said the joke he made about Trump concerned the president's age.
Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images
The FCC will make an unprecedented, early review of Disney’s broadcast licenses for ABC, targeting eight stations around the U.S. that include broadcasters in the nation’s largest markets.
Disney is directed to file license renewals for all of its licensed ABC TV stations by May 28 under the order, which did not name Kimmel and attributed the call for renewal to the FCC’s ongoing investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
The FCC review comes less than a week after Kimmel’s joke, which the late night host said was about Trump’s age and not a call for his assassination.
President Donald Trump has called for Kimmel’s firing over the remarks.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is broadcast on ABC, which receives licenses from the FCC to publicly air its programs across the country.
Forbes has reached out to the FCC and Disney for comment.
The order names WABC Television in New York, KABC Television in Los Angeles, WLS Television in Chicago, KTRK Television in Houston, KGO Television in San Francisco, WPVI Television in Philadelphia, WTVD Television in Durham, North Carolina, and KFSN Television in Fresno, California.
Disney is under new leadership since Kimmel’s last feud with the Trump administration and the FCC, when the host was briefly taken off the air over comments about late conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. Disney did not initially stand by Kimmel’s side amid the backlash but eventually brought Kimmel back on air. Josh D'Amaro took over as Disney’s chief last month from former CEO Bob Iger. He has not issued a public comment on the feud between the Trumps and Kimmel.
The joke at the heart of the conflict was made during a parody of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Kimmel’s show. The host jabbed at President Donald Trump’s supposed health issues and said Melania Trump had “a glow like an expectant widow.” Two days later, the real correspondents’ dinner was hosted at the Washington Hilton and shut down after a suspect armed with a shotgun attempted to run past security and into the hotel’s ballroom. No injuries were reported outside of the suspect and a Secret Service agent who was shot in his bulletproof vest. The first lady wrote in a Monday tweet “people like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate . . . Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand,” though she did not explicitly mention the dinner shooting in her post. Kimmel has pushed back against the first lady, saying his joke was “obviously…about their age difference” and “not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination.” The late night host said Melania Trump should talk to the president about the “hateful and violent rhetoric” she accused Kimmel of.
Melania Trump Accuses Jimmy Kimmel Of ‘Hateful And Violent Rhetoric’ (Forbes)
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