Kimmel responds as FCC opens early review of Disney's ABC station licenses

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel renewed his on-air mockery of President Donald Trump on Tuesday, 28 April 2026, one day after Trump publicly demanded that Disney's ABC fire him over a joke about first lady Melania Trump.

The same day, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr ordered an early review of Disney's eight ABC-owned television station licenses in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, which had not been due for renewal until 2028 to 2031. The FCC's Media bureau said it is investigating the stations for alleged violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the agency's anti-discrimination rules tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (DEI). ABC must file early renewals by 28 May 2026. A person familiar with the matter called the timing "coincidental."

Trump's call for Kimmel's firing followed Melania Trump's social-media post urging ABC to "take a stand" after Kimmel's 23 April mock Correspondents' Dinner monologue, in which he said the first lady had "a glow like an expectant widow." Days later, alleged gunman Cole Allen opened fire outside the cancelled dinner and was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.

Disney said it is confident "the record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment." First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere, a former senior FCC official, called any early review tied to talk-show jokes "a retaliatory act and an obvious violation of the First Amendment."

The FCC has rarely opened early license reviews; the last programming-related revocation came in 1969. Last year, ABC briefly pulled Kimmel after Nexstar and Sinclair affiliates dropped the show following his remarks about Charlie Kirk's killing. Kimmel's contract runs through May 2027.