Does the First Amendment apply in Jimmy Kimmel's suspension?
Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel's suspension is provoking several questions about the First Amendment, the right to free speech and what this controversy might mean for the future.
"In the U.S., the right to free speech means that you have the right to share and hear even unpopular and controversial views, especially political," Raleigh Levine, a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, explained to WCCO. "The First Amendment keeps the government from arresting people, executing people and from fining people for speech."
Still, while the protections apply to the government, Levine stressed that the First Amendment does not prohibit a private business from taking action against an employee or customer based on speech.
"They have the freedom to decide certain views are not consistent with their mission or values or it may impugn their integrity or defile their reputation," she added. "It may be bad for business or bad for company morale."
In Kimmel's case, Levine warned what muddies the waters is that ABC, like CBS, works with the government because it operates on public airwaves.
"The issue here is whether the government is using coercion or pressure to get private companies to do indirectly what it could not directly force them to do," Levine said.
In a podcast interview earlier Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr referred to Kimmel's comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as "some of the sickest conduct possible," and said there was a "path forward for suspension over this."
"The FCC is going to have remedies we could look at," he said.
The FCC's website features a fact sheet about freedom of speech that says the agency is "barred by law from trying to prevent the broadcast of any point of view."
"Expressions of views that do not involve a 'clear and present danger of serious, substantive evil' come under the protection of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press and prevents suppression of these expressions by the FCC," the fact sheet reads. "According to an FCC opinion on this subject, 'the public interest is best served by permitting free expression of views.' This principle ensures that the most diverse and opposing opinions will be expressed, even though some may be highly offensive."
The Writers Guild of America, which represents the writers on Kimmel's show, said in a statement Wednesday night, "As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn't have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to — painful as it may be at times — is the freeing agreement to disagree."
Kimmel made the remarks in his monologue Monday, suggesting allies of President Trump were trying to use Kirk's assassination for political gain.
"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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," Kimmel said.
In a Truth Social post Wednesday night, Mr. Trump, who is currently in the United Kingdom for a state visit, wrote that the "ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED," although ABC did not say that Kimmel's show has been canceled and has not indicated what its plans are for the show moving forward.
"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," Mr. Trump said.