Disney’s ABC may not have the stomach or the desire to stand up to the liberal mob, but there evidently remain some organizations that do.
Nexstar Media Group — a Texas-headquartered media company that owns hundreds of televisions stations, including 32 stations affiliated with Disney’s ABC television network — infuriated liberals on Sept. 17 with its announcement that it would cease carrying “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for the foreseeable future.
‘This censorship of Kimmel reeks of corruption.’
Nexstar, like the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which similarly pre-empted the poorly performing show, cited as cause Kimmel’s desperate attempt to suggest that the homosexual leftist arrested for allegedly assassinating Charlie Kirk supported MAGA.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on September 15.
While ABC subsequently announced that it was suspending the show, it caved amid backlash from Hollywood script readers, Democrats, and liberal activists. Nexstar and Sinclair, however, stood their ground, prompting even more apoplexy on the left.
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Photo by David Russell/Disney via Getty Images
Several hours after Nexstar announced on Tuesday that it was standing by its initial decision “pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve,” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren claimed that the company’s programming decision constituted censorship.
The failed presidential candidate tweeted, “Two companies — Nexstar and Sinclair — control hundreds of local TV stations and have business deals pending Donald Trump’s approval. They won’t air Kimmel tonight.”
Warren insinuated that Nexstar is trying to appease President Donald Trump and his allies to ensure that its planned $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna, a competitor that owns 13 ABC affiliate stations, receives approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
“This censorship of Kimmel reeks of corruption,” Warren said.
Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), and Ron Wyden (Ore.) joined Warren in penning a letter to both Perry Sook, chairman of Nexstar, and Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley on Tuesday, whining about the companies’ decision to take Kimmel’s show off the air.
“If you suspended a late-night comedian’s show in part to seek regulatory favors from the administration, you have not only assisted the administration in eroding First Amendment freedoms but also create the appearance of a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement that could implicate federal anti-corruption laws,” the Democrats’ letter reads.
“If Nexstar or Sinclair traded the censorship of a critic of the administration for official acts by the Trump administration, your companies are not only complicit in an alarming trampling of free speech rights but also risk running afoul of federal law,” the letter continues.
The Democratic lawmakers’ concern-mongering wasn’t enough to make Nexstar fall in line.
In a statement shared with Blaze News early Wednesday afternoon, the company noted, “Nexstar is continuing to evaluate the status of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on our ABC-affiliated local television stations, and the show will be pre-empted while we do so.”
“We are engaged in productive discussions with executives at the Walt Disney Company, with a focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve,” the company added.
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