Some hosts and panelists of podcasts have raised concerns about whether the move will have a “chilling effect on free speech,” as Tim Dillon put it, while others have claimed ABC was simply making a business decision or that Kimmel's comments justified his suspension. “This isn’t First Amendment,” said PBD Podcast panelist Tom Ellsworth.

Kimmel’s suspension came one day after Carr, who authored Project 2025’s chapter on the FCC, suggested ABC “can do this the easy way or the hard way,” echoing his promise to end supposed “biased and partisan conduct” from networks.

Media Matters is maintaining a database of podcasters with shows that self-characterize in nonpolitical categories such as comedy, sports, and culture but which we determined regularly cover news and politics with a right-leaning or left-leaning ideological bent. This report draws upon that ongoing research in categorizing the podcasters mentioned.

• During a monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 15, Kimmel criticized the “MAGA gang” for “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.” According to The Guardian, the monologue was “recorded before Utah prosecutors released more information about the alleged killer,” and it was “not clear if Kimmel was suggesting Robinson was a literal supporter of Maga, or that his alleged political violence was part of a broader shift towards bloodshed and force in US politics, particularly among the far right.” [The Guardian, 9/18/25]
• In a September 17 appearance on right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson’s show, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared to threaten Kimmel's corporate bosses, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Carr also evoked the power that broadcasters like Nexstar and Sinclair hold, adding, “These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” [NPR, 9/18/25]
• ABC affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced they would pull Kimmel’s show from their local stations. [NPR, 9/18/25]
• Nexstar is in the midst of a deal that requires FCC approval. The New York Times reported in August that Nexstar is in the final stages of a deal “to acquire a rival TV company, Tegna, for $6.2 billion,” which would allow it to “oversee 265 television stations in 44 states and Washington, D.C., cementing its position as the largest owner of local TV stations in the country.” The purchase, yet to be finalized, still “requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission.” [The New York Times, 8/19/25]
• ABC, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, announced on September 17 that they were pulling Kimmel’s show “indefinitely.” ABC pulled the show, even though multiple executives reportedly “felt that Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line.” [The New York Times, 9/17/25; Rolling Stone, 9/17/25] 
• Carr authored the chapter of the conservative Project 2025 playbook about the FCC, and following Trump's selection of him to run the agency, he promised to “dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.” Carr, whose chapter of Mandate for Leadership called for “eliminating many of the heavy-handed FCC regulations,” also accused networks like CBS and NBC of engaging in “biased and partisan conduct” before the 2024 election, citing in part Saturday Night Live’s decision to air a skit featuring Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. [CBS News, 11/19/24; Brookings, 2/25/25; CNN, 9/18/25]
• Carr has scrutinized and investigated numerous other networks and news outlets. Since the start of his tenure, Carr has launched investigations or “formal reviews” into “nearly all the major broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR and PBS,” as well as Comcast and a San Francisco-based radio station. [NPR, 8/25/25; Los Angeles Times, 2/6/25] 
• The American Civil Liberties Union and the only Democrat on the FCC have raised alarms over the free speech implications of Carr’s actions. Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez stated at a conference hosted by Axios that “the FCC is weaponizing its licensing authority in order to bring broadcasters to heel,” adding that “the FCC doesn't have the authority, the ability, or the constitutional rights to revoke licenses because of content.” A statement from an ACLU spokesperson decried the pressure campaign as “beyond McCarthyism,” adding, “Trump officials are repeatedly abusing their power to stop ideas they don’t like, deciding who can speak, write, and even joke.” [NPR, 9/19/25; ACLU, 9/17/25]

• Right-leaning podcaster Tim Dillon posted: “FCC Commissioner threatening to revoke broadcasting licenses has chilling effect on free speech.” Dillon added, “AG threatening to go after ‘hate speech’ is a bad sign. When someone has a weapon, everyone will use it.” [Instagram, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25]
• Dillon: “I am against Kimmel being taken off air and against people being shot for their opinions. See how easy it is?” [Instagram, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25]
• Andrew Schulz, host of the right-leaning Flagrant podcast, wrote, “Right: cancel culture is wrong! Unless you cancel the shows of our political opponents, then we'll celebrate it. Left: Fascism is wrong! Unless you kill our political opponents, then we'll celebrate it." Schulz added, “The vast majority of Americans that I speak to are repulsed by this behavior yet there's almost no representation of this sentiment in media (independent or mainstream). How is that possible?” [Instagram, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25]
• On Flagrant, co-host Akaash Singh said taking Kimmel off the air following threats from the FCC “seems like a big attack on free speech.” Singh added, “In terms of censorship, freedom of speech is more under attack now, honestly, than I think it has ever been.” [YouTube, Flagrant, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25] 
• The Nelk Boys, hosts of the right-leaning Full Send podcast, discussed Kimmel's suspension, and co-host Aaron Steinberg said it “brings in and opens a whole new door to, like, free speech.” Co-host Kyle Forgeard suggested that ABC wanted an “excuse” to fire Kimmel for bad ratings. The previous day, a Nelk Boys account had posted a clip of Trump calling Kimmel “a loser” while on their show in 2024, adding, “Looks like President Trump got the last laugh.” [Twitter/X, 9/18/25; YouTube, Full Send, 9/19/25, 10/14/24; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25]

• Emily Jashinsky, who hosts a show on the right-leaning network MK Media, wrote, “The market was going to catch up” to Kimmel and other late night hosts. Jashinsky posted, “Jimmy Kimmel told a dumb joke that actually made his network look bad, and not just in the minds of Very Online ideologues. … But Colbert, Kimmel, and their networks coasted on tasteless and sloppy content for years. The market was going to catch up with them.” [Twitter/X, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25; MK Media, accessed 9/19/25]
• Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said that the move was “not cancel culture” but “consequences for your actions.” Portnoy wrote, “To me Cancel culture is when people go out of their way to dig up old tweets, videos etc looking for dirt on somebody they don’t like in an effort to get them fired. Like if Kimmel got canceled for shit he did on the Man Show that would be cancel culture. But when a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it that’s not cancel culture. That is consequences for your actions.” [Twitter/X, 9/17/25; Media Matters, 8/18/21]
• Link Lauren, host of MK Media’s Spot On with Link Lauren, said in a video posted to social media, “Jimmy Kimmel was not canceled because of a First Amendment issue, because of a free speech issue. He was canceled because he wasn't funny.” Lauren continued, “I’m so tired of these folks in the entertainment industry saying they’re being censored when they’re just getting fired.” [TikTok, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25; MK Media, accessed 9/19/25]
• In an appearance on right-leaning show Timcast IRL, podcaster Brett Dasovic argued that late night TV “ratings have been down consistently.” He added that “Kimmel is No. 2 in the ratings on late night next to Colbert, who’s already been canceled because his ratings are garbage.” [Timcast IRL, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25]
• Tom Ellsworth, a frequent panelist on right-leaning PBD Podcast, said: “This isn't First Amendment. This is an employee gone haywire, and you've got advertisers and other people.” Co-panelist Vincent Oshana agreed, adding, “I don't wanna hear anybody anybody talking about free speech because free speech is free. You could say whatever you want, but there's consequences.” [YouTube, PBD Podcast, 9/19/25, 9/19/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed, 9/19/25] 

• Right-leaning Gaines for Girls podcast host Riley Gaines wrote that she “can’t muster any sympathy” for Kimmel's suspension. She wrote, “Jimmy Kimmel showed zero sympathy for a husband and father of two young kids who was politically assassinated in cold blood. So forgive me if I can’t muster any sympathy when the network that’s carried his show for 20 years decides to pull the plug.” [Twitter/X, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25]
• On right-leaning podcast Timcast IRL, host Tim Pool said: “I’ll admit I’m a free speech guy. … When they come to me and say, ‘I thought you were for free speech,’ I am. But you're not, so I'm gonna hold you to the standard that you asked for. Congratulations.” Pool called the suspension “hilarious” because the left “got people fired from their jobs because some people said naughty words, and now they’re all shocked that the ideology they espoused has come back for them.” [Rumble, Timcast IRL, 9/18/25; Apple Podcasts, accessed 9/19/25]