Lemon Drop | Censorship Is a Choice: What We Can Learn From Jimmy Kimmel's Return
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Why does Don Lemon say 'Censorship is a choice' about Jimmy Kimmel's situation?
Censorship is a choice. Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air with the biggest ratings of his career. Disney now licking its wounds. And Trump, for once, he's the one looking small right now.
Walking out to a thunderous standing ovation overnight, Jimmy Kimmel returning to late night TV after a week off the air. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted.
But it did not have to go this way at all. When Disney pulled Kimmel after Trump's FCC chair attacked him, it wasn't strength. It wasn't strategy.
What happened when Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel after the FCC controversy?
I mean, let's be honest. It was fear. The most powerful entertainment company in the world folded in 24 hours. No hearings, no fight. One podcast ran from a politician and they handed over the microphone like it belonged to him. Because censorship is always a choice.
what appears to be an action by Jimmy Kimmel to play into that narrative that this was somehow a MAGA or Republican motivated person. If that's what happened here with his conduct, that is really, really sick. I've been very clear from the moment that I have become chairman of the FCC I want to reinvigorate the public interest. And what people don't understand is that the broadcasters, and you've gotten this right, are entirely different than people that use other forms of communication. They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest. And we can get into some ways that we've been trying to reinvigorate the public interest and some changes that we've seen.
But frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.
But this time the people chose differently. They canceled Disney Plus.
How did FCC leadership frame the issue of broadcaster obligations and public interest?
They canceled Hulu. They threatened boycotts. They lit up social media. And when Jimmy Kimmel finally came back, the audience showed up with him. Monster ratings. That's what the trades called them.
All right. The breaking news, Jimmy Kimmel. The ratings are in for the first day. And by the way, this is just on the linear here. We'll share 6.2 million, 6.26, actually six and a quarter million viewers on ABC. That was four times Jimmy Kimmel's average. And that's despite the show not even being available in a quarter of all American homes. And the reason for that, of course, is those local TV station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair, they're refusing to air Kimmel's program. So even without a quarter of households, they managed to do that incredible surge. Last night's surge show was Kimmel's most watched show, in fact, since March 12th, 2015. So you got to go back more than 10 years.
Viewers turned his return into an event, into a verdict, a reminder that free expression isn't just a principle. It's the product, and corporate media has been failing that product all year. Case in point, ABC.
How did public backlash and boycotts influence Disney and Kimmel's return?
They cut Trump a $15 million check after George Stephanopoulos misspoke on air. Paramount? They paid him $16 million over a 60 Minutes interview while it courted an $8 billion merger. MSNBC even fired Matthew Dowd for an awkward remark about Charlie Kirk. Those very same executives who lecture about democracy treat free speech like a line item on a balance sheet, something to be bargained away if the price is right, something to be weighed against the comfort of their advertisers and the size of their bonuses. But then came the boycott threats, the public outrage, the ratings explosion, and Disney blinked. Because weakness doesn't sell, appeasement doesn't sell, censorship doesn't sell. What sells is courage.
What sells is the sight of someone refusing to bend when power demands obedience. What sells is defiance in the face of the very people who expect you to kneel. The First Amendment will not defend itself. It is only as strong as the people who are willing to honor it.
What do Jimmy Kimmel's record ratings reveal about corporate media and free speech?
For far too long, corporate media has chosen silence over principle, access over accountability, Trump over truth. But when they went after Jimmy Kimmel, the audience called their bluff. They reminded the networks that free speech is not a brand asset.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Why does Don Lemon say 'Censorship is a choice' about Jimmy Kimmel's situation?
0:14–0:56
2
What happened when Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel after the FCC controversy?
0:56–2:10
3
How did FCC leadership frame the issue of broadcaster obligations and public interest?
2:10–3:21
4
How did public backlash and boycotts influence Disney and Kimmel's return?
3:21–4:34
5
What do Jimmy Kimmel's record ratings reveal about corporate media and free speech?
4:34–5:15
6
What lessons does Don Lemon draw about courage, censorship, and why audiences matter?
5:15–5:40
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Don Lemon Show
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