President Donald Trump’s goons at the Federal Communications Commission will challenge Disney’s licenses for ABC stations amid backlash over a late-night Jimmy Kimmel monologue about the first lady, according to two reports.
A source told CNN media analyst Brian Stelter that the FCC will “call in all of the TV station licenses for Disney/ABC for early renewal,” an action he says has not occurred in decades for a major network.
Semafor also reported Tuesday that the FCC is “moving toward a review of Disney’s broadcast licenses.”
Stelter noted that the action will be slammed as “government retaliation” for Kimmel’s late-night monologue in which he joked about first lady Melania Trump having the “glow of an expectant widow.”
His joke—which spoofed the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner before it took place—went viral after Saturday’s shooting at the actual event, renewing tensions between the White House and Disney. The president and first lady have since called for his firing.
The FCC did not respond to an email seeking details about its plans.
ABC’s stations receive licenses from the FCC to broadcast their programming over publicly owned airwaves. Stelter writes that the licenses that are set to be challenged are not due to be renewed for years.
That calls into question the timing of the forthcoming move, though FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has been threatening Disney for months over its DEI practices. Semafor reports that the official reason for the review will be tied to an FCC probe into the company’s “diversity programs.”
In a teaser clip from an interview with White House adviser Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, Carr claims that “there’s evidence [that] suggests that Disney [was] dividing and categorizing employees based on race and gender.”
“We want to review your license now and decide if you’re in the public interest,” he said. “If we find that a broadcaster hasn’t been doing that, then the statute requires us to issue a hearing designation order.”
Carr, 47, has acted as Trump’s attack dog at the FCC. Just last month, he claimed that networks are using public airwaves to broadcast a steady stream of anti-Trump messaging.
“They’ve amassed a tremendous amount of power,” Carr told the New York Post, referring to the networks. “They’ve effectively turned those local TV stations into mouthpieces for the foie gras, oftentimes, that they’re producing in New York and Hollywood.”
He revealed in that same interview that he is “pushing” policies at the FCC to “rebalance” the state of the country’s networks. As an example, he cited his “Pledge America Campaign,” which urges networks to air “pro-American” material to mark the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding later this year.
Calls for Kimmel’s firing came after he was also suspended last year, when Carr threatened to pull licenses from the network in retaliation for Kimmel’s jokes about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer. Carr was slammed for attacking free speech, and ABC later brought Kimmel back on air.
Trump and his army of sycophants have labeled Democrats a “cult of hatred” over Kimmel’s joke, which some equated to him calling for the president to be killed. Kimmel has countered that the joke was simply about the fact that Trump will turn 80 in June and Melania is just 56, two years younger than Kimmel.
