When Disney-owned ABC yanked Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program off the air on September 17, 2025 it felt like yet another example of the media scrambling to appease the moment instead of standing by basic principles of fairness. The network said it suspended production after Kimmel’s on-air remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk sparked an uproar, and that decision lit a fuse across the country about who gets canceled and who gets a pass.
Local station owners didn’t quietly accept ABC’s move — Nexstar and Sinclair immediately refused to carry Kimmel in many markets, insisting they would not air programming they found offensive or insensitive to their local viewers. That rare stand by affiliate owners showed that broadcast-level pushback still matters when national networks try to shrug off public outrage.
Kimmel’s comeback, announced after “thoughtful conversations” and unfolding on September 22 and 23, read to many like a classic late-night non-apology: sympathy for victims mixed with self-pity and a refusal to correct the record. Conservatives were right to point out that his soft treatment exposed an ugly double standard — punch down at MAGA and you’re lectured, punch up from a protected left-liberal perch and you get a few nights off and back under the klieg lights.
Megyn Kelly didn’t hold back, calling Kimmel a “self-pitying baby” who begged for forgiveness without giving any, and she reminded the country that the cancel machine doesn’t operate evenly. Kelly’s blistering critique — aired on her show and posted on her site — made the blunt point conservatives have known for years: left-leaning entertainers and elites often escape the long-term consequences that silence and destroy conservatives.
Let’s not forget the real-world contrast that fuels Kelly’s fury: she lost her NBC platform after remarks in October 2018, a graceful reminder that the same media that forgave Kimmel’s past transgressions were quick to bury a conservative woman who made a mistake on live TV. The history of Kelly’s cancellation is not partisan fantasy; it’s documented and remains emblematic of how the cancel culture scales tip depending on who your friends are in the press room.
The run-up to Kimmel’s suspension also featured public pressure from the federal level, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr weighing in — a moment that should make every patriot uneasy about how political pressure and regulatory threats can intersect with editorial decisions. Whether you cheered Carr or not, the episode revealed how fragile free expression is when networks, government actors, and corporate interests start trading favors and threats.
Conservatives should take a lesson from the affiliates that refused to be bullied: pushback works and standing up for community values still matters. The real story here isn’t just Kimmel’s single lapse or Kelly’s righteous anger; it’s a failing culture in big media that rewards insiders and punishes dissenters — and hardworking Americans should be loud, proud, and relentless in calling it out until national outlets treat everyone with equal standards.
