Video FCC announces review of ABC licenses amid Jimmy Kimmel controversy Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reports on ABC’s response to the Jimmy Kimmel controversy, while psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert discusses Democratic rhetoric following the WHCA Dinner shooting on ‘The Faulkner Focus.’
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Anna Gomez wrote a letter to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro warning that the corporation has become the "target" of the Trump administration.
"What Disney and ABC are facing is not a series of coincidental regulatory actions but a sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control, carried out through the weaponization of the FCC’s authority as a federal regulator and aimed at pressuring a free and independent press and all media into submission," Gomez, the sole Democrat on the commission, wrote Monday.
She continued, "You are not the first target of this campaign, and you will not be the last. But Disney's experience is, by now, the most documented, and it is worth laying it out plainly."
FROM ABC LICENSE REVIEWS TO COMEY INDICTMENTS, TRUMP'S REGULATORY WAR ON CRITICS ENTERS NEW PHASE
FCC commissioner Anna Gomez wrote a letter to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro on Monday regarding her agency making the company a "target." (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Gomez's letter, which she made available on her X account, followed the FCC calling Disney’s ABC licenses for early renewal last month. Eight Disney-owned ABC affiliates will have to prove to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that they have been operating in the public interest despite their licenses not being up for renewal for several years.
This review came on the heels of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s controversial "expectant widow" joke towards first lady Melania Trump prior to the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner and the subsequent assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
Gomez claimed the "campaign of censorship" began after Disney and ABC agreed to pay out a $15 million legal settlement in late 2024 over a "baseless" defamation lawsuit involving ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos.
CRITICS REJECT JIMMY KIMMEL'S DEFENSE OF HIS 'EXPECTANT WIDOW' JOKE, KEY WHITE HOUSE FIGURE CALLS FOR FIRING
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has called out ABC host Jimmy Kimmel over comments made on his show. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Whatever the legal calculations behind that decision, its effect was immediate and unmistakable," Gomez wrote. "It told this administration that pressure works. It told every other company watching that capitulation was an option. And it opened the door to every action that has followed."
Gomez accused the FCC of launching several investigations and reviews against Disney and its affiliates since then, adding that "none of which reflect legitimate regulatory enforcement."
She pointed to examples such as Carr's veiled threat against Kimmel regarding his comments on Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin and the FCC's crackdown on Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.
FCC BOSS BRENDAN CARR MAINTAINS EARLY ABC LICENSE RENEWAL IS ABOUT DEI PROBE, NOT JIMMY KIMMEL CONTROVERSY
Gomez encouraged Disney and ABC to continue "choosing courage over capitulation" on behalf of the First Amendment.
"I am committed to using every tool available to me as a Commissioner to shine a light on what this FCC is doing to curtail press freedom and to hold this process to account at every step," Gomez concluded.
Fox News Digital reached out to Disney and the FCC for comment.
On Thursday, ABC pushed back against the FCC's probe into daytime talk show "The View" over a rule allotting equal time for political candidates on news shows.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
"'The View' has been broadcasting under a bona fide news exemption granted to it more than twenty years ago... The Commission has taken no action over the last two decades to modify or overturn the Declaratory Ruling and there is no basis for doing so now," ABC said in a petition.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
