Comedian Jimmy Kimmel censored. North Carolina lawmakers weigh in.

Update: This story has been updated to reflect Monday’s announcement from Disney Co., that Jimmy Kimmel’s show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return.

Welcome back to Monday. It’s Danielle Battaglia with today’s edition of Under the Dome focused on the Trump administration.

Time travel with me for a moment.

On July 22, President Donald Trump predicted something that happened last week.

He posted on social media his celebration that late night comedian Stephen Colbert was canceled and this: “The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes…”

That happened on Wednesday.

It began two days earlier, when Kimmel went on stage and said this on his show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”

To be clear, Kirk was a conservative activist who police say was killed by 20-year-old Tyler Robinson, whose family says had recently become more “left leaning.”

There was an outcry from conservatives about Kimmel’s comments.

Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from Greenville, wrote on social media (after Kimmel’s show was pulled from air), “Disgusting @jimmykimmel @JimmyKimmelLive. A bridge too far. Have you no soul?”

On Wednesday (before the decision), Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr went on a conservative podcast saying that Kimmel made “a concerted effort to lie to the American people.” He also threatened an FCC remedy. He added, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Now you may be thinking, “Danielle, what about the First Amendment?”

Ironically, this all went down on Constitution Day, and the First Amendment to the Constitution gives citizens the right to free speech without the threat of government interference. There are limited exceptions, but what Kimmel said did not rise to those levels.

However, Carr knew that Nexstar and Tegna, two media conglomerates that carry Kimmel’s show on their local ABC outlets, are set to merge and need the FCC’s approval to do so, The New York Times reported.

Both companies announced they would not run Kimmel on their local stations, leaving Disney and ABC to suspend Kimmel’s show indefinitely.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Banner Elk, reposted a story on social media about the decision with a waving hand emoji.

She wasn’t the only one to celebrate.

“Truthfully, I don’t understand his humor,” said Rep. Pat Harrigan, a Republican from Hickory, on Newsmax. “I don’t think he’s that funny and I’m glad he’s off the air.”

Late Friday, in an interview to TMZ, he added that this needed to be a business decision, and said we need to be protective of free speech.

Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Raleigh, called for an investigation into Carr’s and Trump’s actions.

“Freedom of speech is our nation’s bedrock principle,” Ross wrote on X. “People have the right to say what they believe, even when we disagree. Trump and Carr’s push to force ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel is another attack on free speech.”

Ross and Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, aren’t two people I find agreeing often, but here we are.

On Friday, Cruz said on his podcast: “It is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position to say, we’re going to decide what speech we like and what we don’t and we’re going to threaten to take you off air if we don’t like what you’re saying.”

He added, “It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it.”

Ironically, Carr in the past has celebrated comedic slights aimed at elites.

Jump back in our time machine to 2020, when Carr posted on social media that “political satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech. It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people into the discussion.”

“From Internet memes to late-night comedians, from cartoons to the plays and poems as old as organized government itself — Political Satire circumvents traditional gatekeepers & helps hold those in power accountable,” Carr wrote. “Not surprising that it’s long been targeted for censorship.”

Stay tuned: Trump isn’t likely to be satisfied with axing Kimmel and Colbert.

“That leaves Jimmy (Fallon) and Seth (Meyers), two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” Trump posted on social media Wednesday. “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT”

Update: Monday afternoon, the Walt Disney Co. said that Kimmel and his show would return Tuesday, Sept. 23. Here is the company’s statement. Kimmel has not responded publicly to his suspension or return.

“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,” The Walt Disney Co. wrote in a statement. “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.”

Other stories we worked on:

• If there is one article you read this week, make it this one about the life of Iryna Zarutska by Theoden James. She is the Ukrainian refugee murdered while riding Charlotte’s light rail.
• Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews faced calls for her resignation after she criticized Charlie Kirk. City officials stood by her, Kristen Johnson reports.
• North Carolina falls behind most states for mental health funding, a detail brought to light after the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, Nora O’Neill reports.
• Rep. Wiley Nickel forgoes a Senate race, to focus on becoming Wake County’s next district attorney, Josh Shaffer reports. 
• The U.S. House Judiciary Committee plans to hold a remote hearing in Charlotte to examine Zarutska’s death, Mary Ramsey reported.
• Gov. Josh Stein traveled to Washington Wednesday to ask Congress for $13.5 billion in additional Helene recovery funding.
• Nathan Collins reports on how the GEO Group, the owner of private prisons in North Carolina, may benefit from Trump’s immigration policies.

That’s it for now. Be kind to each other. And check back tomorrow for the Under the Dome podcast.

If you have any feedback or tips for this edition of the newsletter feel free to reach out to me directly at dbattaglia@mcclatchydc.com.

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This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

Danielle Battaglia

McClatchy DC

Danielle Battaglia is the congressional impact reporter for The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer, leading coverage of the impact of North Carolina’s congressional delegation and the White House. Her career has spanned three North Carolina newsrooms where she has covered crime, courts and local, state and national politics. She has won two McClatchy President’s awards and numerous national and state awards for her work.