Senator Ted Cruz has defended comedian Jimmy Kimmel after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) demanded an early review of ABC’s broadcast licences over a joke about Melania Trump. The Texas Republican called the FCC the ‘speech police,’ arguing it is not the government’s job to censor speech.
Kimmel, on his show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, delivered a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech in which he described the First Lady as having a “glow like an expectant widow.” The comment sparked backlash from Republicans, including President Donald Trump and Mrs Trump herself.
Days after the broadcast, a gunman stormed the real press gala in Washington D.C. in an apparent attempt to shoot the President before being apprehended. The FCC subsequently demanded a review of eight ABC TV licences held by parent company Disney to check for violations of “prohibition on unlawful discrimination.”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Trump ally, had already hinted at scrutiny over Disney’s diversity policies. Melania Trump issued a rare statement denouncing Kimmel’s monologue as “hateful and violent rhetoric” designed to divide the country, adding that “people like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening.”
Cruz previously criticised the FCC last September when Kimmel was briefly taken off air for comments about the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. At the time, Cruz said that while he disliked what Kimmel said, government censorship would ultimately hurt conservatives.
