The Dean came for Jimmy Kimmel’s “Animal House” yesterday.
Nobody should be surprised, especially Kimmel, who has been attending the Hollywood School of Hard Knocks for the better part of quite some time and been sacked and/or compelled to apologize more than once over a long and checkered career.
Kimmel got his start in radio while still in high school, but didn’t land on America’s TV screens until 1977, when he provided the comic relief on “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” which aired on Comedy Central. “The Man Show” followed two years later.
And then in 2003 he got to hang out his own late-night shingle, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC.
Maybe he felt safe there. Comedy Central would fall under the pinstriped shadow of Paramount, which earlier this year punked CBS News and Stephen Colbert to get its merger with Skydance approved.
But this year, ABC — a lesser rub-and-tug parlor in the Disney chain of cut-rate whorehouses — found itself caught between two rocks and a very hard place.
Two big owners of TV stations — Nexstar and Sinclair, the first seeking FCC approval to buy a rival, the second a right-wing white-noise machine — said they would suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after he addressed the killing of the recently canonized — or is that “cannonized?” — Charlie Kirk. Disney’s empty suits took notice and then gave same to Kimmel, reportedly as his audience was filing in for yesterday’s show.
If Kimmel didn’t see it coming, Calvin Coolidge certainly did. In an address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on January 17, 1925, the president said: “After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.”
Some of them are, for sure. And you’re only funny until you get in their way.
Mad Blog Media 
One can show or even attempt to explain the First Amendment but all MAGA does is wipe their collective nether parts with it.
He had the first amendment right to say it, but Disney, more conglomerate than cartoon, were extorted into to sacking him. The republic is on its death bed.
You gotta love the way FCC chair Brendan Carr — who apparently spent all of seven years in private practice at Wiley Rein before glomming onto Uncle Sammy’s saggy, hairy ol’ sugar titty — dismisses Kimmel as “frankly talentless and … looking for ways to get attention.”
Kimmel’s been plying his trade in the private sector since 1989. Dude was actually considering retirement in 2023.
Carr we may have with us for a while yet, more’s the pity.
My wife listens to Jimmy Kimmel. I don’t. She said he made an ass of himself over CK but then apologized. Yes, you have a First Amendment right to make an ass of yourself. But corporations also have a right to make asses of themselves and fire you. It’s too bad, and I don’t like the way the Fourth Estate is increasingly kissing Donald Trump’s ass.
Or as Greg Lukianoff of fire said today, “…We cannot be a country where late-night hosts serve at the pleasure of the president, but until institutions grow a spine and resist political pressure, that is the country we are becoming.”
Kimmel got out over his skis for sure, but an apology would’ve covered it (in a sane world, anyway).
A division of lawyers might be making their Maserati payments over whether that Heritage Foundation/Project 2025 tool Brendan Carr at FCC violated Kimmel’s First Amendment rights by leaning on his employers in what sure looks like Kid Sally Palumbo muscling a Brooklyn shopkeeper (“Nice business deal you got goin’ there. Be a shame if somethin’ happened to it.”)
Vance is encouraging people in the whole country to notify the employers of people who “celebrate” this murder on social media. Classic turn in your neighbor stuff. Putin junior is what.
He’s just giddy because he thinks with Kirk gone there’s one less dude standing between him and the Oval Office, when in fact he has all the popularity — even among his own crowd — of a full diaper in a tight space on a hot summer afternoon.
I gotta think, along the lines of the Coolidge quote, that there’s some lesser media player that wants to move a bit higher in the food chain and will snap up Jimmy Kimmel and Colbert for the ratings.
Kimmel, Colbert and Stewart all have the same business manager. That’s why they all lobbied together for the Colbert Emmy win and had billboards created saying “I’m voting for Stephen.” So they all win essentially, even though right now they’re subjects for deportation, and their network’s broadcast licenses are on the block, which The Emperor is hoping for. I’ll bet the team will become real actual partners in something of which we know nothing of ATM. Throw John Oliver in there too and we’ll have a winning team, from whatever country they’ll be broadcasting from.
David Letterman had some choice words on this subject from The Atlantic Festival.
“It’s ridiculous,” Letterman said. “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office, that’s just not how this works.”
Calling FCC chaircreature Brendan Carr a “goon,” he added: “This guy [at] the FCC said, ‘We can do things the easy way. We can do things the hard way.’ Who is hiring these goons? Mario Puzo?”
Next up: Jon Stewart, who takes the helm of “The Daily Show” tonight.
One more thing to think about: During the 2007 writers’ strike, Kimmel — along with Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien — promised to continue paying staffers while their shows were off the air.
And in the 2023 strike, Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers all made the same vow, after doing likewise for their staffers in the early going of the COVID years.
Who would you rather be working for? The unreality-show host whose catchphrase was “You’re fired!” or the people who saw to it that you wouldn’t freeze to death in the dark even if you couldn’t work for a while?
Canada is nice,..
Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
ahh but they also get to paint it in bright colors so we can see how awful if really is…(some things just do not age well.)
Out of respect for your and your site and not wishing to draw attention inappropriately, I will say “Holy fucking christ ! What the fuck happened to this country?” I understand the GOP not liking a lot of the Dems positions, but to bend over and let the bastard ignoramus shithead screw his way into setting this country back many, many years, why? Are that many reasonably intelligent and educated people so blind and greedy? To allow the bastaignorashithead to use the government for his own benefit is unbelievable. Yes, mankind’s history repeats itself and I’m ashamed to be a citizen of what is going on now. I suppose I may just go down and clear out all my bank and investment accounts. Withdraw the money so that it cannot be used by the economy. Make sure I make no large expenditures that are really needed. No new cars, no new bikes, no new kitchen appliances, no house painting, no HVAC improvements. Purchase more products that are needed from thrift stores, garage sales and yes, private ebay sellers. Oh yeah, and of course no Disneyland, Disney TV, Paramount TV, any kind of paid TV or entertainment. Take the money away from those who are allowing this clown show to go on. Can I do it? Hell, the way I’ve been living for the last 20 years another 3 or so won’t matter.
P.S. I poured myself a new concrete soapbox and it’s got 1/2″ FBE coated rebar in it. It ain’t going anywhere.