Brendan Carr is still awaiting a thank-you from Jimmy Kimmel.
The FCC chairman—who has been engaged in a very public back-and-forth with ABC’s late-night host since September—said at Semafor’s Restoring Trust in Media event that he arguably saved Kimmel’s bacon.
To recap the origin of their feud: Kimmel with his September 15 monologue intimated that the late Charlie Kirk’s shooter was MAGA; that characterization sparked some outrage, leading the Sinclair and Nexstar affiliate groups to drop Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Carr opined on a podcast that “when you see stuff like this… we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr’s choice of words, interpreted by some (including Senator Ted Cruz, even!) as a Goodfellas-like mob threat, effectively cast the FCC as a bully and steered some on-the-fence popular opinion in Kimmel’s favor.
JKL was suspended by ABC as a whole for just a few days, but it was not cancelled. What’s more, ABC and Kimmel wound up announcing a one-year contract extension (though that deal reportedly had been hammered out over the summer).
At this Wednesday’s Semafor event, Carr said, “It’s funny — I actually think I’m the reason Jimmy Kimmel didn’t get fired, ultimately. He didn’t send me a Christmas card at the end of all of that!”
The Trump-appointed Carr then maintained he has zero regrets about leading a more scrutinizing FCC that, more recently, is revisiting the scope of the Equal Time rule that long has exempted “bona fide news” programs (including late night talkers).
“We are trying to fundamentally reinvigorate the FCC’s enforcement of the public interest,” he explained. “What people don’t understand is that broadcast television is fundamentally different than every other form of distribution. You don’t just get to use the microphone the way you would if you had a cable channel, or a Substack [newsletter].
As it happens, the FCC this week released a file of nearly 1,600 viewer complaints—most of which were not directed at Kimmel, but rather the FCC’s own chair. After Carr publicly pressured ABC affiliates to preempt Kimmel (and ABC “indefinitely” pulled the show off the air ), the tenor of the complaints changed, with the bulk of subsequent filings targeting Carr and/or the FCC itself.
Watch Carr make his Christmas card case below:
"I actually think I'm the reason Jimmy Kimmel didn't get fired, but he didn't send me a Christmas card," @BrendanCarrFCC tells @semaforben.
— Semafor (@semafor) February 25, 2026
"I don't have any regrets. We are trying to fundamentally reinvigorate the FCC's enforcement of the public interest." pic.twitter.com/zbjH5bHzr0
