The harsh lights of a set cast down on a stage, as the audience waits with bated breath for the much anticipated return of a show that up until that night had been suspended.
The tape rolls, and Emmy award-winning talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs after much confusion and outcry.
The previous week, the TV host was pulled from the air by ABC, and was suspended indefinitely. Then, the following Tuesday night, Kimmel stepped on stage met with an uproar of applause, along with 6.3 million viewers who had all tuned in to watch his anticipated return. This would be the beginning of what would be a show of jokes, laughs, and even tears as Kimmel gave an emotional monologue, calling for freedom of speech across all of television.
“This show is not important. What’s important is that we get to live in a country where there can be a show like this,” Kimmel said, marking his return as one of the most watched broadcasts in the show’s history and a message against censorship overall.
So how does an Emmy winning show, with millions of viewers, get taken off the air so quickly? During his monologue, Kimmel made comments about Charlie Kirk that others took offense to.
“The MAGA Gang is 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,” This sparked outrage amongst conservative politicians like FCC chair Brendan car, and ultimately propelled the Trump administration to apply public pressure on Disney Studios to take Kimmel off the air for comments the Walt Disney company later deemed “ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
Only five days later, Kimmel returned to the air, after Disney studios released a statement explaining Kimmel’s reinstatement.
“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” the statement read.
Kimmel isn’t the first public figure whose platform has been extinguished due to political pressure. Stephen Colbert’s show “The Late Show,” another popular, Emmy winning talk show was canceled after what CBS called a “financial decision,” (although many speculated to be a politically motivated attempt to appease President Trump and secure approval for a Paramount Skydance merger, according to NPR). Colbert and Kimmel have both openly criticized President Trump on numerous occasions, causing concern that the future of comedy—and by extension freedom of expression in America—is threatened.
According to Erwin Chermerinsky, the Dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Law and a specialist in first amendment law, the laws regarding freedom of speech are much more dense and complicated, and its protections and limitations are even more questionable.
“This would take a book to answer,” he said. “I spent an entire semester on this. Generally, all ideas and views can be expressed.”
However, Chermerinsky describes that there are categories of unprotected speech like incitement, threats, obscenities, and false advertising—all of which are not protected under the first amendment. In regards to what would not be protected under the First Amendment Cherminsky explained an example of this would be inciting illegal activity, where an individual’s claims made direct implications of speech likely to cause illegal activity. Kimmel’s comments were none of the above.
“ABC gets to decide what it wants to air,” he said. “But the pressure from Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr to remove Kimmel violated the First Amendment.”
As First Amendment law becomes more precarious and more violations of free speech continue, there has been concern among both students and educators that censorship at a school district level could occur. Ahsan Minhas, a social studies teacher at Venice, says he doesn’t know what to expect given the current administration, but that he strives to teach an uncensored curriculum.
“I’m just hopeful that the district doesn’t compromise on academic freedom and freedom of speech, just for some extra money from the Federal government. And I hope our state pursuit of California can help the districts from falling that trap. ”
Ultimately, Minhas is wary of how the government will take control of educators if they’ve already begun targeting powerful figures in the media.
“Targeting people like Jimmy Kimmel and famous people sends a message to normal Americans that the government can go after people in power and basically tell them to shut up if they don’t like what they say. So it makes people fearful of expressing their ideas and being caught in the crosshairs of the government.”
Minhas also reiterates that given the uncertainty both education and media faces in America, he will do everything in his position to protect his curriculum, along with his students.
“My role at Venice is just to promote academic freedom and freedom of speech and to remind students that, you should not compromise on freedom of speech and that when we stand up for art, free press, we stand up for everybody’s free speech rights. So, yes, your free speech matters, your academic expression matters, and when you fight for your rights, you fight for everybody, so that’s what you’ve got to keep doing. ”
In light of Kimmel’s suspension, what you can and cannot say under the Trump administration has been thrust into the spotlight as the battle over censorship continues. Whether you’re a member of the Hollywood elite or a history teacher, the policies the Trump administration implements regarding free speech will continue to impact all facets of American culture. Regardless of who you are, according to Chermerinsky, the First Amendment is fundamental to the United States and would have serious consequences to overall democracy if it was not upheld for everyone.
“The alternative is to allow the government to decide what is true or false, or what can and can’t be heard,” he said. “That always leads to disaster.
“Free speech is essential to a democracy, as people can criticize their government officials and government policies, and engage in speech related to elections. Speech is an essential part of a person’s autonomy.”
In the original version of this story, we credited Ahsan Minhas as the social studies department chair, which was incorrect. We corrected the mistake to refer to him as a social studies teacher.
