The U.S. government’s communications watchdog is honing in on Disney-owned ABC amid possible violations under the Communications Act and the Federal Communications Commission’s rules regarding discrimination.
The FCC issued an order on Tuesday requesting that the broadcasting company expedite the renewal of its license for its local television stations, despite the company having already complied with two letter inquiries, per the order.
“The FCC determines that calling in Disney’s ABC licenses for early renewal, at this time, under the Communications Act’s public interest standard is essential within the meaning of agency regulations,” per the order. ABC has until May 28 to file its license renewal — a task that was initially scheduled for, at the earliest, 2028, according to The Guardian.
The actual purpose of the renewal cannot help but be questioned by critics, given the latest back-and-forth between the Trump White House and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel — who hosts ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — has been recently under fire by President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and other GOP officials and pundits for a skit he did last week ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
In his mock White House correspondents’ dinner skit, the late-night host made a joke at the expense of Melania Trump.
“Look at Melania. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” he said. “Melania’s birthday is on Sunday. That’s right, she’s planning to celebrate at home the same way she always does, looking out a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?’”
The skit was aired just days before the actual correspondents’ dinner, where a gunman reportedly exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents inside the Washington Hilton Hotel.
The president and first lady demanded in posts online that Kimmel be taken off the air for his comments, with Melania Trump calling his comments “hateful and violent rhetoric” that “is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she said in a post on Monday.
It seems that ABC is currently siding with Kimmel as his show continues to be scheduled to air Tuesday night, with the comedian explaining himself on Monday.
“Obviously, (it) was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” Kimmel said.
“It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination,” he added. “I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”
The Trump-aligned FCC is expected to take action as soon as Tuesday afternoon.
The Blaze founder Glenn Beck posted on X that although he thinks Disney and ABC should be held accountable, the government should not be involved.
“I want to make it really clear: If I were ABC, I would fire Jimmy Kimmel. But the government should stay completely out of this controversy. Kimmel has a right to speak and even say incredibly stupid, tasteless, and unfunny things on his show without federal crackdown. ABC has the right to air this garbage. And Disney has the right to employ him,” he posted on X.
Beck continued, “Kimmel, ABC, and Disney are proving that they don’t have any standards. They don’t care about the responsibility they have as broadcasters to not pour gasoline on a fire. But that’s not a government issue. Want to see real change? Let Disney know with your pocketbook.”