Sinclair Broadcast Group on Friday announced the end to its embargo on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The company had previously refused to air Kimmel’s show on its nearly 40 ABC affiliates over a joke the late-night host had made about MAGA and President Trump’s reaction to the death of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk—even as ABC reversed its decision to cancel it.
Sinclair had gone so far as to demand Kimmel “issue a direct apology to the Kirk family” and “make a meaningful personal donation” to Kirk’s family and organization.
In a statement Friday, Sinclair said “it will end its preemption of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the show will return this evening on Sinclair’s ABC affiliates.”
“Over the last week, we have received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives,” the statement said, and also mentioned a shooting at an ABC affiliate in Sacramento last week. “These events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.”
It also mentioned “ongoing and constructive discussions with ABC,” in which Sinclair offered proposals “to strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue” that ABC and Disney have not adopted.
The statement lashed out against the obvious conclusion that many drew from the incident—that the company’s censorship of Kimmel stemmed from threats made publicly by Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr.
Sinclair insists its actions were “independent of any government interaction or influence,” and included in the statement a prickly response to those who saw Sinclair’s move after Carr’s threat as a violation of Kimmel’s free speech: “It is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.”
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