Disney has finally decided to defend its ABC television shows, filing a federal lawsuit against the MAGA-ified Federal Communications Commission for an attempt to challenge the broadcast licenses of its shows.
The media company filed its suit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, alleging that Trump’s administration has “waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts.”
“Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech—the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air. Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech,” reads the suit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The suit argues that the FCC has violated ABC’s First Amendment rights, pointing to FCC chairman and Trump loyalist Brendan Carr’s regular comments about the network’s programming and editorial decisions. One such remark was Carr’s warning to ABC last September when the network’s star Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. At the time, Carr said on a podcast, “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Kimmel’s show was indefinitely suspended that month, sending shockwaves through the industry and urgent concerns over the Trump administration’s attacks on free speech. Even after being restored to air, the hits against Kimmel’s show at the hands of the Trump administration–and the president himself–have continued, which Disney’s suit points out.
ABC is now seeking an injunction, asking the court for a temporary restraining order to stop Trump’s FCC from beginning its early proceedings to look into the license renewals of eight stations.
The call came after Kimmel made a joke about the president and the first lady, sparking calls from the couple to have Kimmel fired. Following the backlash, it was reported that the FCC would move forward with a review of Disney’s broadcasting licenses.
The lawsuit says the Carr-led challenge to ABC stations could go in extreme directions.
“Any FCC adjudication would be a charade. The Commission cannot lawfully grant renewal this early in the license terms—the only outcomes on the table are adverse to Plaintiffs,” it reads. “At one extreme, the Commission may intentionally prolong the adjudicative process, miring ABC in years of costly litigation, with the threat of adverse action ever present and with every editorial judgment shadowed by the prospect of provoking the Administration into further retaliation.”
The suit says that, on the other hand, the FCC could “immediately revoke the Stations’ licenses, forcing Plaintiffs off the air entirely, as the President has repeatedly demanded.”
“In either scenario,” it continues, “the Administration accomplishes its goal of eliminating a perceived media critic: either it gets Plaintiffs to fall in line, or it silences them if they refuse.”
In a statement following news of the lawsuit, Freedom of the Press Foundation Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said, “It’s about time for someone to take Carr and his FCC to court over their endless campaign of intimidation and retaliation against journalism that displeases Carr’s thin-skinned boss,” adding, “Carr knows the FCC is not the journalism police and said so regularly himself before he decided to throw away any integrity he once had to kiss up to Trump. Countless others whose First Amendment rights have been chilled by Carr’s antics should follow Disney’s lead.”
Trump’s FCC has blatantly targeted the network’s late-night star Kimmel, and daytime talk shows, like The View. The latter has been facing a formal investigation over an alleged violation of the “equal-time” rule, highlighting the show’s consistently anti-Trump guests.
Carr invoked the equal-time rule, which has been scarcely used in the modern era, in January, warning “legacy TV networks” of “their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.”
Last week, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro said the company’s stance is “clear,” confirming it will not back down on its editorial choices.
“We’re very principled on this,” he said in a CNBC interview during its D23 Expo. “We’re very principled on this. We’re going to stand up to what we believe is journalistic integrity. And we’re not going to be told how to run that side of our business. Our filings, I think, speak for that. I like what we do. We tell incredible stories. I think we do it well. We do it around the world. And we’re going to stay committed to that.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the FCC and ABC for comment.
