Obama says White House takes cancel culture to 'new and dangerous levels' after Kimmel suspended
Former U.S. president Barack Obama accused the Trump administration of censorship and hypocrisy following the suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show.
"After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like," in a post Thursday to his account on X.
The post linked to an article by Zack Beauchamp, titled 'Let's be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel.'
On Wednesday, Walt Disney-owned ABC said it would indefinitely stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! after remarks the late-night host made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination came under harsh criticism from the head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
In the article linked by Obama, Beauchamp wrote that Kimmel was "taken off the airwaves because the Trump administration didn't like what he had to say — and threatened his employer until they shut him up."
After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like. <a href="https://t.co/uts7JpJZzN">https://t.co/uts7JpJZzN</a>
—@BarackObama
Meanwhile, speaking Thursday at a press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the situation with Kimmel in response to a question about free speech.
"Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else," Trump said "And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.
"They should have fired him a long time ago," Trump continued. "So, you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent."
cbc.ca
