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ALPERN AT LARGE - In my last CityWatch piece, I made it very clear that Jimmy Kimmel was someone who abused his position as a late-night comedian on a major network to become a political spin-doctor, verbally thrashed about half of America, drove away hordes of viewers, cost his network millions of dollars…but his firing was cause for concern.
I’m no fan of Kimmel. He’s a narcissist who’s wasted his energy and talents offending many who brought him to fame during his “Win Ben Stein’s Money” and “Man Show” stints, and became unhinged if not deranged in his delusions (kind of like President Trump turning off many who might support him otherwise became of Trump’s verbal blowhard nature).
But let’s keep it real, honest, and reeeeeeally honest.
Kimmel’s initial response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination was absolutely the right one, sharing his thoughts on X on September 10th after Kirk was cruelly assassinated in front of his family and during a peaceful debate at Utah Valley University:
“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”
Kimmel surprised me with his kind statements, and I (like many others) truly hoped he would be part of the healing efforts needed to bring our nation together after such a major incident with Kirk’s assassination.
(And let me make this clear—if anyone think that Kirk’s impacts on the nation and world is going to disappear in a few days…think again. We just had a JFK/RFK/MLK event with Kirk’s assassination, like it or not. His assassin probably immortalized Kirk in ways none of us will imagine.)
But the following Monday, Sept. 15th, Kimmel opened his mouth to DIVIDE the nation again, and to blame the assassin NOT on the latter’s overblown, criminal, and downright evil response to the rise of “the MAGA movement” in the United States, but on the MAGA movement that Kirk stood for…saying, in effect, that the assassin WAS a Republican and/or MAGA supporter:
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said in his monologue. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
Which infuriated not only the White House team but both Republican conservatives, pro-MAGA Republicans, and even liberals who were confused, offended, and gobsmacked by Kimmel effectively stating that Kirk and his followers supported the violence that led to Kirk’s assassination to get ahead politically.
Kind of like stating that JFK’s or MLK’s supporters purposefully killed those two in the 1960’s to “make points”. Or that President Lincoln or those slain in the Robert F. Kennedy assasinations actually lost their lives to their followers, and not their enemies.
NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…the assassin had his bullets, his writings, and his political leanings all under the “Antifa” scriptbook which we’ve been gaslighted into hearing that “Antifa” isn’t real.
To all reading this, Antifa was real, is real, and will need to be confronted—and as much as it’s politically correct to state that “both sides are equally guilty”…
…well that’s the kind of new “politically correct is bad” and “Antifa is bad” effort that is exploding here, in Europe, in the Middle East, and throughout the world.
So the gaslighting (did even Kimmel think it was true?) that Kirk’s assassin was MAGA was just too much, and it infuriated at least 1/3 of the Disney/ABC affiliate stations into demanding a retraction and apology by Kimmel.
Because Kirk’s assassin might have come from a conservative/Republican family background, but both he and his transgender lover were both getting quite radicalized by social media.
(For the record, I’ve had plenty of patients who were gay, transgender, queer, etc. who NEVER would resort to violence. Let me make that perfectly clear—sexual and religious beliefs, no matter how strongly held, do NOT invariably lead to the violent actions of radicalized individuals)
So did Kimmel understand he crossed a line of untruth and indecency with his unfortunate and poorly-chosen second response to Kirk’s death?
No—he was going to double down, and before he could speak his piece and smack down MAGA and Kirk’s movement even more, Bob Iger of Disney/ABC yanked Kimmel off his show, and suspended him before more financial damage and public relations chaos could ensue.
So Kimmel went off the rails and crossed a few lines not many have ever seen…
…until the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one Brendan Carr, stupidly and irresponsibly did the “hold my beer” thing by stating:
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr acted not like a government official, impartial and level-headed and even-handed, but like a mob boss or an enforcer of a bigger mob boss running things from the White House.
But while Trump and those who wanted “revenge” from late-night braying jackasses like Kimmel and others like him (Colbert, Meyers, Stewart, The View, etc.) who are “Republicans are evil, stupid, etc.) all were saying, “See, I told you so!”…
A liberal/Democratic response to Carr’s statements and Iger’s behind the scenes machinations blew up, and then even Republican stalwarts Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Mitch McConnell were complaining about Carr’s statements and strongarming free speech.
Because it’s really bad when a major, normally-even-handed big network (unlike known partisan entities MSNBC, Fox, or CNN) crosses the line.
But it’s REALLY bad when the government does it.
So Carr blew it by his statements, and then Disney did not so much stand up for free speech but folded to pressure caused by Carr’s idiocy and bullying:
"Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. 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," a Disney spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
But guess what? Sinclair will preempt Disney’s ending its suspension because they’re still pissed off and fearful of what big-mouth Jimmy Kimmel will say Tuesday/tomorrow night.
So…stay tuned. If Sinclair and Disney want to say “dammit, you’re costing us credibility and money!!!” that’s one thing.
But if a major government policeman like the FCC goes roguely partisan, it will NOT end any better than when Lois Lerner weaponized the IRS against grassroot Republican nonprofits.
Partisanship is part of human nature—but when you’re a top cop of a major governmental entity, you HAVE to behave better.
Maybe, in the end, Jimmy Kimmel will stay, and it will be Brendan Carr who will get the heave-ho.
(THIS WAS ORIGINALLY SUBMITTED IN THE EVENING OF 9/22/2025)
ADDENDUM 9/25/2025:
Jimmy Kimmel came back on this last Tuesday the 23rd, and I thought was pretty sincere. He’ll have his ongoing feud with President Trump, but he apologized as best he could and acknowledged who he pissed off…and validated the anger and offense of those who rightfully would be upset by Kirk’s assassination.
Maybe Kimmel will have a decent future if he truly remains grounded and aware that hubris goes both ways.
Meanwhile, the following night (Wednesday the 24th), South Park (which is supposed to be a program that satirizes all parties and both sides) savaged Brendan Carr.
Yet Carr still remains in office, and because South Park keeps trashing President Trump (after giving a rather inexplicable pass to President Biden and Vice-President Harris) with every show it now makes, South Park’s producers (Trey Parker and Matt Stone) is appearing to be rather biased to the Left all-of-a-sudden.
Oh well…credibility goes both ways. South Park’s creators got paid before they decided to enter a “Trump Derangement Syndrome”, Kimmel is still potentially being boycotted by Sinclair, and Republican leaders have shown that they will stand up to censorship when it’s needed (even if Trump wants to be a new censor).
For now, it’s the same principle we knew all along:
CREDIBILITY ISN’T GRANTED, BUT RATHER EARNED.
The winners: Republicans and Democrats who lean against censorship, cancel culture, and violence.
The cautious winners and survivors: Jimmy Kimmel (and perhaps any other late-night talk show host or comedian) if they attack either BOTH sides when deserved, or keep away from playing/taking sides altogether.
The losers: Brendan Carr and anyone in the Trump Administration who censor the Left, and any on the Left who use their positions in entertainment (including South Park’s creators/producers) to attack, belittle, and silence the Right and hurt what we all must preserve at all costs.
OUR CREDIBILITY—IT COST BIDEN AND HARRIS THE WHITE HOUSE, AND IT’LL MAKE OR BREAK THE SUCCESS OF TRUMP’S RETURN TO POWER.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
