Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr said his agency received no external “pressure” or “suggestion” before opening an early license review of ABC owner Disney—just hours after President Donald Trump repeated his call for the network to fire late night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke he made about First Lady Melania Trump.
The president previously called for the network to fire Kimmel after he called First Lady Melania Trump an “expectant widow.”
ABC via Getty Images
Speaking at an FCC press conference on Thursday, Carr insisted the FCC’s review, which the National Association of Broadcasters called “nearly unprecedented,” was related to a months-long investigation into Disney and ABC’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Carr said it was a “decision we made inside this building based on where we were in the enforcement,” and insisted it was “based on DEI conduct and not speech.”
Carr said the investigation into Disney was opened in March 2025, but would not say whether a separate probe into NBC parent company Comcast’s DEI practices would also result in an early license review.
The chair also insisted the FCC acted independently, claiming “there was no pressure from the outside, there was no suggestion from the outside, there was no call for agency action from the outside.”
In the days leading up to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner planned for Saturday night, Kimmel joked Melania had a “glow like an expectant widow”—a remark he later clarified was about Trump’s age difference with his wife. Trump still raged at Kimmel on Truth Social days after a shooting disrupted the Correspondents’ Dinner, and a suspect was charged with attempting to assassinate the president. The first lady first called for Kimmel to be fired, calling his joke “hateful and violent rhetoric” in a post on X and insisting he shouldn’t be allowed to “enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday morning, Trump returned to attacking the late night host, calling him “seriously unfunny” and claiming he “incompetently presides” over a low-rated show. “People are angry. It better be soon,” the president wrote. When pressed about Trump’s remarks about Kimmel later on Thursday, Carr said the president had “every right” under the First Amendment to speak about this. “The great thing about President Trump is he’s very transparent, he’s told publicly his position. He has every right to make the decisions that he’s made, make the public calls that he’s made.”
This is the second time the Trump administration has pressured ABC to remove Kimmel, a frequent critic of the president. Last September, Kimmel drew criticism from conservatives after remarks he made about the politicization of the suspected shooter of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the immediate aftermath of his assassination. Carr, a conservative Trump appointee, threatened the government could crack down on networks for entertainers like Kimmel, insisting in a podcast episode “these companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” ABC indefinitely paused “Jimmy Kimmel Live” later after two broadcasters of ABC affiliates, Sinclair and Nexstar, said they would stop airing the late night show. At the same time, Nexstar was seeking FCC approval for purchasing rival Tegna. Kimmel was reinstated by ABC owner Disney days later, after pressure from viewers and high profile critics, including former President Barack Obama.
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