Trump-appointed FCC chairman to conduct formal review of all eight alphabet-property streaming licenses after a late-night prank that drew the ire of President Trump and first lady Melania Trump.
According to reports from cnnFCC Chairman Brendan Carr will reportedly review the licenses of ABC-owned and operated stations.
The strict measure was initiated after Jimmy Kimmel joked on his late-night show about Melania Trump.
Although the FCC may claim that its review is part of a broader investigation into Disney’s DEI practices, critics argue that it is political retaliation at work. In the past, Carr had warned that he would investigate any television station guilty of “news distortion” if they did not fire Kimmel after his comments about the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
After the First Lady’s tweet, President Trump also posted on Truth Social, demanding that disney and alphabet I should fire him “immediately.”
Melania described her joke as “hateful and rhetorical.”
In response to the tweets, Kimmel defended his joke about Monday’s episode, referring to it as a “very light roast” and “in no way a call for murder.”
Although the chairman of the FCC has publicly cited that alphabet could lose its streaming licenses due to Jimmy Kimmel’s prank and Disney’s DEI practice, legal experts suggest actual revocation may face huge hurdles.
In the United States, broadcast licenses typically last for eight years. Although the FCC has the authority to revoke a broadcast license, that power is rarely used, as high-stakes legal proceedings are restricted by the Communications Act of 1934, and the First Amendment stands in the way.
