by Daniel Brouse
September 24, 2025
PSA: “Killing humor isn’t funny. Kill humor, kill freedom. Not so funny now, is it?”
Nexstar Joins Sinclair in Silencing Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC Return
Disney and ABC have put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air! His first night back drew record viewership, even as dozens of affiliate stations continued enforcing prior censorship. The coordinated actions of Sinclair and Nexstar appear politically motivated—driven by pressure from Trump-aligned officials, including the FCC, and by Nexstar’s commercial interest in securing approval for its proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA, announced in August 2025 and still awaiting FCC sign-off. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr even went so far as to threaten ABC’s license, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Equally significant is Sinclair’s overt alignment with far-right MAGA politics. Together, these factors created powerful incentives for strategic censorship—and that is exactly what we witnessed.
ABC/Disney, however, do not appear to be part of the same collusion. ABC initially pulled the show under intense affiliate and regulatory pressure, then reversed course to bring Kimmel back—suggesting a response to coercion, not conspiracy. Whether ABC should have held firm from the start is debatable, but their actions triggered public pushback and mobilized resistance. That pushback—including advertiser pressure and widespread outrage—likely did far more to protect free speech than quiet capitulation or permanently pulling Kimmel ever would have. ABC proved that active resistance works.
This situation mirrors CBS’s experience but now involves ABC affiliates. Sinclair is a massive MAGA operation, and Ellison is equally extreme. ABC affiliates owned by Nexstar are tied to the pending TEGNA acquisition. For context, Paramount Global—the parent of CBS and its owned-and-operated stations—was recently acquired by Skydance Media in a deal approved by the FCC in July 2025. The new owners, Oracle’s far-right MAGA billionaires the Ellisons, are also working to fold TikTok into the broader MAGA media propaganda machine. Trump’s pattern is unmistakable: silence Stephen Colbert on CBS and Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. In an obvious quid pro quo, CBS and ABC were forced to capitulate—or risk the FCC denying mergers and acquisitions, or even revoking broadcast licenses—an unmistakable case of mob-style extortion at the highest levels of government. Not to be overlooked, Trump has already extorted millions from both ABC and CBS through personal lawsuits.
The Choice to Raise Your Voice
Make the choice to raise your voice! Just say NO! to censorship. This is about silencing opposition. This is about killing comedy before it can mock power — and make no mistake, satire has always been the sharpest blade in democracy’s arsenal — democracy’s secret weapon.
That’s why tyrants fear it, that’s why dictators ban it, and that’s why Trump is trying to kill it. Humor exposes lies. Humor punctures egos. Humor topples emperors who think they wear clothes.
Long live comedy. Long live satire. It’s time for all of us to pick up the torch and rise. Sharpen your wit, wield your words, and refuse to be silenced.
Here’s How You Can Fight Back
Nexstar has now joined Sinclair in refusing to air Jimmy Kimmel’s return on ABC.
🔗 Sinclair station list
🔗 Nexstar station list
What you can do:
→ Tune in tonight — check if your local newscast is on when Kimmel should be airing.
→ Take notes — if your local news is airing instead of Jimmy, jot down the companies advertising during the broadcast.
→ Take action — call those companies and tell them you’ll boycott until they stop funding Sinclair and Nexstar’s censorship.