Newly unearthed emails show that a conservative group targeting Jimmy Kimmel and his staff had a direct line to FCC chairman Brendan Carr’s office in the weeks leading up to Kimmel’s mid-September suspension.
According to internal FCC emails obtained by WIRED, staff had standing instructions to route complaints from the Center for American Rights directly to a senior aide in Carr’s office.
A conservative legal advocacy group that believes broadcasters are failing their public interest obligations by favoring Democratic viewpoints, the Center for American Rights has long petitioned the FCC to more aggressively enforce rules around political coverage, including conflict-of-interest and “news distortion” standards.
Though previous FCC leadership had dismissed the group’s complaints as inconsistent with First Amendment protections, they appear to have found a more receptive audience under Carr.
Among the group’s filings was an early September complaint first reported by LateNighter that accused Kimmel of using Jimmy Kimmel Live! to advance Democratic political interests without adequately disclosing his personal involvement in campaigns and fundraising, pointing to both his donations and his on-air interactions with political guests.
The complaint also cited political contributions from Kimmel’s wife and executive producer Molly McNearney, among other show staffers.
The timing is notable. The complaint was submitted September 4—less than two weeks before ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Carr publicly targeted Kimmel, warning that ABC, its parent company Disney, and affiliates carrying the show could face regulatory consequences over Kimmel’s on-air comment that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize [Charlie Kirk’s murderer] as anything other than one of them.”
The emails do not establish a direct link between the complaint and the events that followed, but they do show how filings targeting Kimmel were being directed to top FCC officials rather than moving through the agency’s standard intake process—even before the controversy escalated.
Carr has continued to focus on broadcast late night in the months since, most recently issuing new guidance that calls into question long-standing equal time exemptions for shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show. The agency now says it has not seen evidence that such programs qualify as bona fide news interviews and warns that shows motivated by “partisan purposes” may not be entitled to exemptions.
The shift aligns with arguments long advanced by the Center for American Rights. In a statement following the FCC’s move, the group’s president Daniel Suhr said the change “puts Hollywood hosts and network bigwigs on notice—they can no longer prop up Democratic candidates with free airtime while shutting out Republicans.”
Related: Conservative Watchdog Seeks FCC Probe Into Jimmy Kimmel Live
Shows you just how sad and pathetic that Drumpf regime is!
“Accountability” is a Democrat talking point. Sorry sweetheart, dix are for chix.
That’s why nobody likes you losers!