Jimmy Kimmel Reveals Changes to Talk Show Following FCC Warning
Jimmy Kimmel has revealed a significant change to his late-night talk show, following alleged threats from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is led by the President Donald Trump administration.
During the episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that aired on Wednesday, September 9, the host shared that an upcoming interview with James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Texas, will not be broadcast on ABC but will instead be available on the show’s YouTube channel.
“I’ll be interviewing James Talarico tomorrow night under some unusual circumstances,” Kimmel, 58, mentioned during his monologue on Wednesday.
He elaborated, “For the last 20-plus years of our show, I’ve interviewed numerous Americans running for office without any issues, just like [David] Letterman, [Jay] Leno, and [Arsenio] Hall. I’ve spoken to a variety of political candidates, including Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, and even Donald Trump himself.”
“I interviewed Donald Trump while he was running for president in 2015, and back then, he seemed perfectly fine with the idea of talk show hosts interviewing candidates,” Kimmel added. “In fact, he was quite enthusiastic about returning for another interview, which he did shortly before becoming the [Republican presidential] nominee in 2016.”
“But for some inexplicable reason, something has changed,” Kimmel remarked.
Kimmel alleged, “Now that he’s president, his FCC has issued threats against me, our show, and our network, ABC, including our affiliates and local stations, likely based on traditional editorial decisions and guest bookings that they disapprove of.”
“So, in order to spare our local stations—particularly our ABC affiliates in Texas—who would have to navigate this nonsense, my interview with James Talarico will not broadcast on television,” Kimmel explained. “Instead, it will be available on YouTube. So, if you’re interested in learning about a candidate for the Senate tomorrow, you’ll need to visit the Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube channel, where you can watch it in full.”
Kimmel added, “Thank goodness we have that, because in the America we live in right now, that is the best we can do… until November, of course,” referring to the upcoming midterm elections.
Us has reached out to the FCC for a comment.
Kimmel’s show previously faced suspension by Disney, which owns ABC, in September 2025, in light of criticism from the political right and pressure from Trump’s administration—specifically from FCC chairman Brendan Carr—following Kimmel’s comments regarding the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
On his Tuesday, September 8, monologue, Kimmel took a jab at Carr while celebrating his show’s 4,000th episode.
“That’s a lot of shows. According to the White House, it’s too many shows,” Kimmel quipped. “This show began after the Super Bowl in January 2003. Some claimed we wouldn’t last this long; others even tried to use the regulatory might of the FCC unconstitutionally to ensure we didn’t last this long. But we did it the hard way, Brendan, and we’re still here!”
