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ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

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Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#771

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think everybody is (reasonably) confused by the use of the words "anything other than". It's usually used in phrases that express the speaker's opinion to the opposite ("as if this is anything other than performative" means "this is performative"). Based on the clip, it sounds like Kimmel unfortunately used it literally: "trying to portray [him] as anything other than...", as in, "they're jumping the gun on his por…

This by the way is an example of construction that confuses is non English natives. Another one is "he was all but dead" which can be understood as "he was really in a bad shape, almost dead", or "he was absolutely not dead, as opposed to what they say" There are a few more like these (especially in short titles, where I have to analyze word by word the sentence to make sure I got it right)

Yeah, English is very confusing (or at least I get the impression that it is more confusing than other languages - it's the only one I speak).

Even in your example, I think you misunderstand. "He was all but dead" is never used to mean "he was absolutely not dead, as opposed to what they say". That would be "he was anything but dead".

However, there is a caveat, since even native speakers increasingly over the years speak English "wrongly". Of course, when they do it enough, it's no longer wrong. So maybe you did hear a native speaker use the phrase "he was all but dead" with the latter meaning, but I would put that usage in the "wrong" camp as of 2025.

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#772
post #723

It really is kind of incredible. I just saw the clip and there really is absolutely nothing there. This is not even 10% as poignant of what Jon Stewart would say in his day. He doesn't even say anything about Kirk himself, or even about the murder—he just talks about the reaction to it. I already thought it was very suspicious that Sinclair's official press release just talks about how the remarks were "inappropriate…

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I don’t think you should get downvoted but I don’t agree either. He insinuated the shooter was maga, but in a way that was “perfect” in terms of deniability. I think that sort of rhetorical sleight of hand by our media elites is why we are where we are now with killing each other and societal Discord, so alas it’s better for society if Kimmel is off the airwaves. But the quote itself is rather tame. First, they came for glen beck, and we said nothing…

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#773
post #548

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK all information anybody had at the time was that he grew up in a good gun-loving Republican family and he'd written some silly memes on the shell casings. The discord chats and his relationship with a trans woman were AFAIK not revealed yet, or at least were so new that they maybe hadn't made it to Kimmel's writers room. That kind of problem gets a demand of a retraction, not a firing. Contrast that to a Fox Ne…

To be specific, Brian Kilmeade deliberately moved the Overton window on mentally ill homeless people into holocaust territory. “just kill ’em” But the FCC accuses Kimmel of “alienating the audience”.

It's "Rules for thee but not for me," with these folks.

And it's not like it's a surprise either. As Sartre observed[0] decades ago:

“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre

It's quite nauseating.

[0] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7870768-never-believe-that-...

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#774
post #730
post #723

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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Kimmel was clearly pulled because the fuhrer doesn't like him, because Kimmel is critical of him. You won't see conservative commentators scrutinized this closely, or at all, nor is there any precedent for the FCC acting in this way.

And Donald Trump is stuck in an 80s mentality where late night show hosts are the most important comedians around.

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#775
post #677
post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 2nd part is the quote from Jimmy Kimmel that he said on air that caused the "controversy", that resulted in the FCC commissioner, Brendan Carr to go on a podcast and threaten ABC/Disney with retaliatory action if they refused to take Kimmel off the air. CNN doesn't show a clip, but explains what was said & the events that caused this. https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/business/video/abc-jimmy-kimm... Never believe t…

This isn’t a free-speech issue. Kimmel was free to say what he said, and I personally don’t find his comments egregiously offensive. However, clearly some people did. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences. In this case, his employer responded to partner backlash over his remarks.

> his employer responded to partner backlash over his remarks

No. His employer responded to threats from the Republican federal government to prevent them from broadcasting by pulling their FCC license or prevent their merger.

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#777

ABC was certainly complicit in what Jimmy Kimmel was doing. But they are now throwing Jimmy under the bus. Jimmy was wrong to say what he said. At best it was a bad-faith assertion, at worst it was propaganda. It wasn’t even true, or likely to be true given what we knew. The fact is that someone is dead. That is the strongest form of censorship. That is the strongest attack on “free speech”. Jimmy pulled indefinitely…

He showed a clip of the president. And he said: > 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 Which is factual. It does not make assertions about Mr. Robinson. It represents a factual observation that many of the "MAGA gang" are attempti…

Ah but you see theres the rub. It’s not factual. It’s almost all supposition. I don’t think he should be pulled from the air by the way. Let’s go line by line.

> We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately -snip-

Pretty loaded statement. Desperately? On what basis?

The “fact” is that MAGA didn’t have the slightest fear the shooter was one of them. They all assumed he wasn’t bc it made the most sense given context and available evidence.

Anger? Sure. Desperation? No lol.

> trying to characterize this kid

That shooter is 22. That’s a full blown adult. Calling him a kid is not only false but also gross in this context. It’s an attempt to evoke sympathy for a murderer.

> as anything other than one of them

Another false supposition. They are actually trying to characterize him as a far left nutjob. Not just “anything”, but “Liberal”. The thing about propaganda is certain words aren’t allowed in certain contexts.

Second, it implies the shooter was likely one of them which was highly improbable to all concerned — most especially to MAGA.

> and doing everything they can to score political points for it

What political points Jimmy? It’s more likely they are just upset that a good friend got shot and killed in broad daylight for speaking his views. Charlie Kirk was a huge ally of MAGA and a friend to many of them. So they want justice.

Of course Jimmy can’t say that (propaganda has rules), so here he is acting saying it’s about vague political points (sounds convincing) and not genuine grief/outrage.

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#778

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is. Until you start bragging about it. That changes the perspective completely. I've never heard a farmer or a vet brag about when they had to put down an animal.

I doubt anyone enjoys putting an animal down and there are those who are psychologically unable to do it. They usually ask a neighbor or family member to do the necessary. I disagree that she was bragging about it. I think she was illustrating that she can do what needs done, even the unpleasant parts. I believe it resonated well with anyone who's had to do similar tasks.

All it showed me is a dog owner without empathy or ability.

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#779

This is bad. Watching Jimmy Kimmel was the one thing that kind of kept my spirit up.

I agree it's bad. Hopefully he will start an internet show (a la Tucker) and could even have more success and greater reach in a new medium.

Re: ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after threat from FCC chair

#780
post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kimmel didn’t even criticise Kirk. He’s a mainstream TV comedian and nothing he said “turned up the heat”. The reality is very simple: Nexstar wants federal approval for a merger. They know engaging in this censorship increases the likelihood of their merger being approved. So you’re exactly as jaded as you should be, just with the wrong target.

Nah, reality is even simpler than your conspiracy. These late night guys are money losers and they are looking for a reason to drop them. The fact that they nightly insult 80 million potential viewers with their arrogant and unneeded leftist opinions is bad for business. It doesn’t matter how Jimmy and his leftist writer feel, that’s their business they should keep out of the job. They need to maximize shareholder va…

Yeah, this is the first time most people have thought about Jimmy Kimmel in years.
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