Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday that the decision to order an early license review for Disney’s ABC television stations is about the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — not President Trump’s clash with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
“This was based on DEI conduct and not speech,” Carr said at a press conference following the FCC’s monthly meeting.
The review, which was announced on Tuesday, came a day after Trump demanded Kimmel’s firing on Truth Social for a joke the comedian made at the expense of first lady Melania Trump on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week.
The timing of the review has raised eyebrows, leading some critics to believe the review was in connection of the latest escalation of the skirmish between Kimmel and Trump.
The FCC first launched its Disney probe in March 2025 into whether the Mouse House was still engaging in DEI practices that flout the agency’s equal employment opportunity rules.
Carr said the information the FCC has received from Disney has caused him to suspect that the media giant is in violation of the agency’s rules against discrimination based on race and gender.
The chairman added that Disney hasn’t been completely forthcoming in its responses to the FCC’s requests for information.
“It felt like they were playing rope-a-dope,” Carr said of Disney’s response to the agency’s document demands.
Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Carr’s remarks.
A rep for Disney previously said that the company is confident that the “record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels.”
The Mouse House has until May 28 to comply with the FCC’s order. It owns eight television stations in major markets including New York and Los Angeles.
Kimmel’s flap with the administration was sparked by his April 23 show, in which he presented a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech where he joked that the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
The joke was made days before a man opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, which took place at the Washington Hilton in DC Saturday night.
The suspected gunman, Cole Allen, 31, was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate Trump and two firearm offenses.
Trump echoes his demand that Kimmel be fired as the late-night host has continued his jokes about the president in his monologues.
