The co-hosts of The View have finally spoken out about the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show following his comments about slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
ABC announced Wednesday, just hours before its nightly broadcast, that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was being pulled “indefinitely” following the host’s controversial remarks about the identity of Tyler Robinson, the suspected gunman behind conservative activist Kirk’s killing.
The View — which, like Kimmel’s late night show, also airs on ABC — was conspicuously silent about Kimmel’s suspension during its Thursday and Friday broadcasts, leading fans to believe the network urged the co-hosts to remain silent on the matter.
However, Monday’s episode began with co-host Whoopi Goldberg acknowledging the elephant in the room: “Did y’all really think we weren’t going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel? I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons? No one silences us.
“When the news broke last week about Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, we took a breath to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first,” Goldberg continued. “You cannot like a show and it can go off the air. Someone can say something they shouldn’t and get taken off the air. But the government cannot apply pressure to force someone to be silenced.”
Ana Navarro added: “I don’t understand how in this country, where the First Amendment was made to the Constitution to guarantee freedom of the press and freedom of speech, how the government itself is using its weight and power to bully and scare people into silence.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin also chimed in: “The First Amendment is the first for a reason, because you need to be able to hold those in power accountable.”
Goldberg wrapped up the conversation by saying: “We talk about freedom of speech a lot because we are always in somebody’s mess because somebody has decided that we have said something that’s offensive. But we fight for everybody’s right to have freedom of speech because it means my speech is free, it means your speech is free.”
One day after Kimmel’s suspension, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said it may be “worthwhile” to investigate whether The View is violating broadcast rules.
More to follow
