Jimmy Kimmel says his interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, will air on YouTube rather than on ABC because of what he described as pressure from the Federal Communications Commission on his show and the network’s affiliates.
“I’ll be interviewing James Talarico tomorrow night under unusual circumstances,” Kimmel told his audience Wednesday. He noted that he has interviewed candidates from both parties throughout his more than two decades on air, including Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, and that he interviewed Trump in 2015 and again in 2016 before Trump became the Republican nominee.
“Now that he is president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations based on simple traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings it would seem they don’t like,” Kimmel said. He added that “out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas,” the interview would be posted to the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel instead of airing on television.
ABC had not issued a public statement responding to Kimmel’s remarks as of this reporting, and there is no public FCC order or statement confirming the specific threat Kimmel described.
An Echo of Colbert’s Talarico Interview
The move follows a similar episode earlier this year involving former Late Show host Stephen Colbert, who also said his Talarico interview would run on YouTube rather than on CBS, citing pressure tied to the Trump administration. CBS at the time issued a statement disputing Colbert’s account. Colbert’s show was later canceled, about three months afterward. The Colbert-Talarico YouTube interview drew nearly 10 million views.
Critics of Kimmel’s account point to the federal equal-time rule, which requires broadcasters to offer comparable airtime to opposing legally qualified candidates. Kimmel interviewed Trump in May 2016, before Trump had secured the Republican nomination, and interviewed Clinton on August 22, 2016, after she had become the Democratic nominee. He did not interview Trump again during that general-election cycle, a sequence some have argued would have run afoul of the equal-time requirement had both been declared nominees at the time.
A Crowded Texas Senate Race
Talarico is one of three Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas, alongside Rep. Jasmine Crockett and businessman Ahmad Hassan. Crockett said in July she considered the race “a racist race” and has since declined to campaign alongside Talarico. Neither Crockett nor Hassan has been offered a comparable interview by Kimmel or, previously, by Colbert.
Broader Disputes Between Disney and the FCC
The interview controversy comes amid a separate legal fight between Disney, ABC’s parent company, and the FCC over an early license-renewal review of the eight television stations Disney owns and operates. Disney has argued that its daytime program The View qualifies as a news program and should be exempt from equal-time rules. The Trump administration is also investigating Disney over allegations involving race-based hiring and promotion policies, which Disney disputes.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in July that ABC’s decision not to carry a live presidential speech on election security would be a factor in the commission’s review of the network’s broadcast license.
Separately, a report this week said ABC plans to end Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2027. The network has denied that report.
