Can Jimmy Kimmel Sue the FCC? Potential Lawsuits, explained. – ryan
Photo: Randy Holmes/Disney Via Getty Images
When abc announed on september 17 that the network would Pull New Episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live!The Outrage that followed HAD LESS TO DO FANDOM THAN THE ATTAK ON FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. ABC’s Decision FOLLOWED FCC Chair Brendan Cariticism of Kimmel Earlier That Day Over The Late-Night Host’s Brief Commentary on Far-Right Provocateur Kirk’s Killing. Carr implicated that kimmel shoulder be suspended dural a podcast appearance. “We can this the esy way or the hard way,” he Told Benny Johnson, The Right-Wing Host of The Benny Show. AS CARAR’S Comments Started Circulating on Social Media, Nexstar and Sinclair, ABC Affiliates Described by Deadline As The “Two Larger Station Groups,” Criticized Kimmel and said They Wold preempt his show. ABC THEN SAID IT WOULD SUSPEND KIMMEL ACROSS The United States, per cnn.
President Donald Trump Immediately Celebrated Kimmel’s Suspension on Social Truth. “Great News for America: The Ratings Challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is cancelled,” he wrote. “Congratulations to ABC for Finally Having the Courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has zero talent, and work ratings thanin, IF thats Possible.” He Also Suggested Other Late-Night Hosts, Like Jimmy Fallon and Set Meyers, Should Lose their Jobs. Trump’s Embrace of Censorship Was Further Estabished we and he told Reporters He wants to take licenses Away from Networks overgative Comments About Him.
Iferynding Feels doomed, Its Because This News Follows the Cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s Show, which Means there is more work Coming to the late-world. Writers and Comedians are nervous and pistsed off. Here what to know how they and what they can be fight back (or sue).
Let’s Start With the Basics: The First Amendment Means that the Government Cannot Tell you what to say – or what not to say – and attacks on free speech are not legal in the United States.
Comedy Counts as Protected Speech. Roy Gutterman, The Director of the Newhouse School’s Bound Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University, that thats Both comedy and satire are “A Pretty Well-Setled Area of Law, and Not Much to Argue Over.”
“Threatetening to put pressures on Broadcast licensees of offensive comments made by a comedian is trouble,” Gutterman Says. “Jimmy kimmel is a COMEDIAN. I Always Found Him to Be the Least Political of the Late-Night Hosts.”
Three lovell, an entertainment and trial attorney in los angeles, expresses simillar views when it came to parody in entertainment. While there are some some forms of unprotected speech – Defamation, falsehoods, and Incing Violence – “Kimmel, South parkEverything they’re doing is lawful, legal, and protected by the first amendment. They’re not doing anything that’s actionable, “Lovell Says.” You can’t come about me for defamation, Because it’s parody and samp of it is based on the Truth anyway, just criticism and opinion.
On September 15, Kimmel Described “New Lows” Following the arrest of a man suspect of killing kirk. “We hit some new Lows over the weeks with the magic gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who walld up charlie kirk as anythhing other than and doing and making they can to score politics from it,” Said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House Flew the Flags at Half-Staff, Which Got Some Criticism. The Following Segment Showed Trump Answering a Question About How He’s “Holding Up” AFTER KIRK’S DEATH. Trump Answers and Segues Into Talking About the New Ballroom Being Built at the White House. “Yes, he at the fourth stage of Grief: Construction.” Kimmel Said Non -Jokingly. “Demolition, Construction. This is not how How an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4 -ear-op mourns a goldfish, Okay?”
Yes, Kimmel Can File Suite Against His Bosses, but its Success Wauld Depend on What Wrongdoing He Alleges. Neama Rahmani, Founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers and A Formal Federal Prosecutor, Says that Kimmel’s “Only Vaable Clalim Be Breach of Contract.” Rahmani explains that there isn’t a freedom-of-vesech protection with private employers. There isn’to isn’t a california state or a federal law that was to doin him from being suspended. “Employers Can Discipline Their Employees for Speech, Sceue Thought the Government Cannot,” Rahmani Says. “If the suspension violated kimmel’s aggregement with Disney, Howver, May have a claim. The Employment Agreement Isn’t Public, But it Waled Help IF It Containeed A Guarantee of Airtime or a Terminal With Cause Provision.”
Yup! “Brendan Carr’s not-So-Subtle Threat Violates the Foundational Parts of the First Amendment, and the deeply disturbing that so many People who Complained About Cancel Are Perfectly Fine with this,” Says Ron Kuby, A criminal defensive attorney with a focus on civil. Rights. “When the Government Gets Involved in Trying to Suppress the Content of Speech, Whether ITHER’S Done Through Threats or Other Action, ITS Andst Amendment Violating, and We’ve Seen a Tsunami Trump Took Power,” He Says.
In response to a request for comment, the white house insisted this was not a first amendment will and doubles down on criticism of kimmel.
“This has no notthing to do with free speech-Low-ratings LOTS JIMMY KIMMEL IS FREE TO MAKE WHATE BAD JOKES HE WANTS, but A private company is under no obligation to Lose Money Producing An Unpopular Show. Current Timeslot and He Has Lost Over 43% of HIS Total Audience President Trump Returned to Office, “White House Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson Said in a Statement. “Jimmy kimmel’s terrible product isn’t a free speech problem; it’s a talent problem.
No. In the Most Recent QuarterHis Show was at the top of abc’s key demo of adults aged 18 to 49. He was solidly no. 2 when it came to total viewers, beebind (ironically) Colbert. And while kimmel’s ratings are down compared to be his show Moved to 11:35 pm Many years ago, so is almost every single broadcast and Cable TV thanks to the shift to streaming.
No. Several Experts Say that they are attacks on critics are unprecedented – but are troubledly becoming More CommonPlace. “I think is all part of a new normal, a new trend of silence individuals in the media,” Says Camron Dowlatshahi, An Entertainment and Media Law Attorney. “Previously at the fcc, you would see ther involve be there is no nudity or curse Words on the air-you did not see step ino seing not-controversial statements that were maybe leaning one Way or the Other.” Dowlatshahi said that the fcc chair’s handling of kimmel’s comments, Alongside Governmental Pressure on Critics of Trump and His Administration, Has Immense Over Outlets’ Bottom Line. “What’s precipitating all this are these these huge mers that are happy, right?” He Sayys. “Becuse otherwise, the fcc chair can Threatent all of these things, and then if the network really wanted to fight, then they could have been on first amendment. Through, Which is Pretty Sad. ”
KUBY, WHO HAS BEEN PACTICING LAW FOR DECADES, SAID DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN DON’T LIKE CRITICISM, and “SOMESTEMES THEY WILL OCCAZONALLY MAKE THATS CROSS The LINE INTO FIRST AMENDMENT SPEECH.” An Official in George HW Bush’s Administration Said, for Example, that gulf War protests should be careful of what they Say. “Never before has the Sort of Full Power of Government Been Deployed to Stiffle and Suppress Speech that the administration doesn’t like,” Kuby Says. “From the use of research grants to federal funds to license to Lawsuits, we have never see anything like this before, Back in the nixon days, who was arguably the most authorian president.”