Ted Cruz Slams FCC for Operating as “Speech Police” After Kimmel Joke

Source: The New Republic · Bias: Left

Summary

Senator Ted Cruz is defending late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and his employer, Disney, from the FCC. The Texas Republican blasted the agency’s decision to demand an early review of Disney’s broadcast licenses following a joke Kimmel told on TV about first lady Melania Trump last week where he said she would “glow like an expectant widow” at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Days later, a gunman tried to attack the event but was apprehended by the Secret Service. “It is not government’s job to censor speech, and I do not believe the FCC should operate as the speech police,” Cruz said to Punchbowl News Tuesday. Earlier that day, the FCC directed Disney’s eight ABC TV stations to file for early renewal for their broadcast licenses, to determine whether it potentially violated the agency’s “prohibition on unlawful discrimination.” Weeks ago, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said that Disney’s licenses could be in jeopardy over the company’s alleged efforts to diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the timing of the commission’s latest demand is suspect, considering that President Trump, Melania Trump, and other administration officials all attacked Kimmel in the leadup to the request. Cruz also came to Kimmel and ABC’s defense last September after the FCC attempted to punish networks that carried Kimmel’s show over jokes he made about the Trump administration. At the time, Cruz said on his podcast that “I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said, I am thrilled that he was fired. But let me tell you: If the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you, the media, have said; we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like’—that will end up bad for conservatives.”Last year, Kimmel was suspended for a week before returning to his show. This time, will he and Disney weather this new attempt at censorship? If not, another late night talk show could bite the dust thanks to pressure from the Trump administration.

Related Coverage

Daily Analysis

Read the full Parallax Pulse for April 28, 2026 — an AI-powered analysis of how Left and Right media covered the biggest stories this day.

More Headlines From April 28, 2026

arallaxNews.io
Ted Cruz Slams FCC for Operating as “Speech Police” After Kimmel Joke
The New Republic

Ted Cruz Slams FCC for Operating as “Speech Police” After Kimmel Joke

Left

Senator Ted Cruz is defending late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and his employer, Disney, from the FCC. The Texas Republican blasted the agency’s decision to demand an early review of Disney’s broadcast licenses following a joke Kimmel told on TV about first lady Melania Trump last week where he said she would “glow like an expectant widow” at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Days later, a gunman tried to attack the event but was apprehended by the Secret Service. “It is not government’s job to censor speech, and I do not believe the FCC should operate as the speech police,” Cruz said to Punchbowl News Tuesday. Earlier that day, the FCC directed Disney’s eight ABC TV stations to file for early renewal for their broadcast licenses, to determine whether it potentially violated the agency’s “prohibition on unlawful discrimination.” Weeks ago, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said that Disney’s licenses could be in jeopardy over the company’s alleged efforts to diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the timing of the commission’s latest demand is suspect, considering that President Trump, Melania Trump, and other administration officials all attacked Kimmel in the leadup to the request. Cruz also came to Kimmel and ABC’s defense last September after the FCC attempted to punish networks that carried Kimmel’s show over jokes he made about the Trump administration. At the time, Cruz said on his podcast that “I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said, I am thrilled that he was fired. But let me tell you: If the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you, the media, have said; we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like’—that will end up bad for conservatives.”Last year, Kimmel was suspended for a week before returning to his show. This time, will he and Disney weather this new attempt at censorship? If not, another late night talk show could bite the dust thanks to pressure from the Trump administration.

Read Full Story at Source