Dave Portnoy offers the most sensible take on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension — but it will anger liberals

Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy has experienced what it’s like to be canceled.

It has been almost four years since Business Insider trampled on Portnoy’s image by seemingly reaching out to any, or all, women in his past in an attempt to paint him as “violent” toward them during sex; the word “sex” appeared 27 times in the the outlet’s story.

‘Jimmy Kimmel isn’t being successful enough … to keep him on the air.’

At the time, Portnoy slammed the outlet as his new mortal enemy and rejected every assertion up and down.

Now, Portnoy’s experience with cancellation have shined through in his take on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC, following Kimmel’s disprovable claims about Charlie Kirk’s alleged murderer.

Portnoy took to his social media on Thursday to say he did not think Kimmel was being “canceled.”

“To me Cancel culture is when people go out of their way to dig up old tweets, videos etc looking for dirt on somebody they don’t like in an effort to get them fired,” Portnoy wrote on X.

“Like if Kimmel got canceled for s**t he did on the Man Show that would be cancel culture,” he added. “But when a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it that’s not cancel culture.”

Portnoy was likely referring to Kimmel doing blackface on his 19990-2003 show to impersonate former NBA player Karl Malone, which Kimmel apologized for in 2020.

“That is consequences for your actions,” Portnoy added.

Portnoy explained in a follow-up video that when sponsors, networks, and even bosses are involved, there will always be caveats on what one can say.

RELATED: Jimmy Kimmel claims Charlie Kirk shooter is ‘MAGA’ during wildly unfunny monologue

Portnoy revealed that when Penn Entertainment bought Barstool Sports in 2023, part of the agreement was that he would not “make fun of politics and government employees.”

The entrepreneur explained that Penn, which runs gaming sites and casinos, did not want Portnoy or his staff poking fun at those who control gambling licenses.

“Whenever you work for a company, or work for somebody else, and you are … creating headaches for the people up top, you’re forced with a decision,” Portnoy continued. He stated that he did not think conservatives were engaging in cancel culture and being hypocritical in relation to Kimmel.

“What happened to Kimmel, I would say, is consequences for your actions in real time.”

RELATED: ‘It makes me want to puke’: Dave Portnoy reacts to political advice from AOC, Zohran Mamdani supporters

President Barack Obama appears on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on November 19, 2020. ABC via Getty Images

Portnoy went on to claim that Kimmel’s situation was simply the broadcaster’s way of stating that viewers in its markets do not want to see that type of content. He stressed, “This is not a free-speech issue to me.”

“This is a capitalist market,” the 48 year old added.

Finally, Portnoy argued that if Kimmel is “creating more headaches than he is bringing in benefit,” he, like anyone else, could get the boot.

Nielsen ratings have shown a significant drop in viewership for Kimmel in recent years, down to about one-fourth of what they were in 2013. In 2025, his show has ratings around 0.16, which is considered extremely low and at risk of being taken off the air.

“This is, Jimmy Kimmel isn’t being successful enough … to keep him on the air.”

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