Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) expressed his satisfaction that late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel is off the air for the time being, yet he cautioned that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr’s warning to potentially take action against ABC sounded reminiscent of a scene from “Goodfellas,” the iconic mob film, and was “dangerous as hell.”
“Jimmy Kimmel has mocked me so many times I can’t even count. The corporate media are dishonest, they are liars. I dislike what Jimmy Kimmel said, and I am delighted that he was fired,” Cruz shared on his podcast “Verdict.”
However, Cruz cautioned that Carr’s remark about the FCC possibly considering “remedies” against ABC for not addressing Kimmel’s insinuation linking Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer to the “MAGA gang” was a poor choice.
“No, no, no, no, no. Listen, I like Brendan Carr, he’s a solid guy, the chairman of the FCC, and I work closely with him. But his statement is equally dangerous,” Cruz commented.
Cruz, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, made his comments in response to Carr’s interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.
Carr mentioned in that interview that Kimmel’s insinuation of Kirk’s killer being MAGA-aligned would be “really, really sick,” emphasizing that ABC, as a broadcast license-holder, should consider public interest.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr stated. “These companies need to find ways to alter conduct and take action concerning Kimmel, or, frankly, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC looming.”
“I got to say, that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar, going, ‘Nice bar you have here, it would be a shame if something happened to it,’” Cruz said, referring mob-movie classic directed by Martin Scorsese, which was based on real-life events.
“Let me tell you if the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you the media says. We’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like.’ That will end up bad for conservatives,” Cruz warned.
Carr’s comments have drawn sharp criticism from Democrats on Capitol Hill, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), who called the chairman “one of the greatest threats to free speech America has ever seen” after Carr backed the suspension.
Disney and ABC suspended Kimmel’s show indefinitely Wednesday after he said on his Monday show that the country “hit some new lows over the weekend” when the “MAGA gang desperately tried to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Nexstar Media Group announced Wednesday that its affiliate stations would preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live” due to the remarks. ABC followed suit with the suspension shortly after.
Nexstar owns The Hill, and the CW.
Nexstar said in statement that it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
Al Weaver contributed.
