Benny Johnson Explains How ABC Affiliates Pulled Jimmy Kimmel After Charlie Kirk Assassination Commentary
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Benny Johnson Explains How ABC Affiliates Pulled Jimmy Kimmel After Charlie Kirk Assassination Commentary
Benny Johnson breaks down the chain of events that led to Jimmy Kimmel's suspension from 37 million households after the late-night host's controversial comments about Charlie Kirk's assassination. Johnson explains why this wasn't about canceling offensive jokes, but about holding media accountable for what he calls victim-blaming and lying to the public about left-wing political violence. He details how FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr condemned ABC's broadcast, and how affiliate stations Sinclair Broadcasting and NextStar made the decision to pull Kimmel's show. Johnson argues this represents consequence culture, not cancel culture, and draws a stark distinction between the right's willingness to condemn violence versus the left's pattern of celebrating political adversaries' deaths.
The Background: What Jimmy Kimmel Said About Charlie Kirk
Benny Johnson opens by clarifying what Jimmy Kimmel actually said that sparked the firestorm leading to his suspension from broadcast affiliates. According to Johnson, Kimmel didn't simply tell an offensive joke—he crossed a line that created a dangerous environment similar to what led to Charlie Kirk's assassination in the first place.
Johnson explains that Kimmel told his audience of millions that a MAGA conservative killed Charlie Kirk, and then effectively suggested Kirk had it coming because he was the leader of the MAGA conservative movement. "He is a generational voice for our movement," Johnson says. By claiming Kirk was killed by his own movement, Johnson argues Kimmel engaged in victim-blaming against a man who was assassinated.
But the problem went deeper. Johnson contends that Kimmel was also sending a message to his left-wing audience: if you're a left-winger who targets and kills a conservative or Trump supporter, mainstream media platforms like ABC will whitewash it for you. They'll obscure the true motives of what Johnson calls demonstrable left-wing political violence.
The FCC and Broadcast License Violations
Johnson's program decided to escalate the issue by speaking with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr about Kimmel's statements. Carr's response was unequivocal—he called ABC's actions "truly sick" and warned that Disney and ABC News would face consequences for what he termed a malicious lie told about a good and honorable man during what Johnson describes as the single worst left-wing political assassination in our lifetimes.
The legal argument Johnson presents hinges on broadcast licensing. ABC has a legal duty based on their broadcast license with the federal government—a license lavished upon them by taxpayers—to not lie to their audience and to broadcast in the public interest. By misrepresenting the nature of Kirk's assassination, Johnson argues ABC violated their broadcast license obligations.
How Local Affiliates Made the Decision
Following Carr's statements, Johnson and his producers took their campaign directly to local broadcast stations. They contacted ABC affiliates and asked whether they planned to continue broadcasting Jimmy Kimmel given the FCC's commentary and the liabilities Disney had created for them.
Two major broadcasting groups responded: NextStar and Sinclair Broadcasting. Both companies issued public statements declaring they would end the Jimmy Kimmel show and pull it from their stations. This decision removed Kimmel from 37 million households.
Johnson emphasizes this crucial point: "I didn't make that decision. Brendan Carr didn't make that decision. It was the affiliate stations." These organizations own and manage the actual broadcast stations, while ABC News simply creates the content. The local stations declared they would not defend the indefensible, and their statements made that clear.
Free Market or Cancel Culture?
When pressed on whether this constitutes cancel culture, Johnson draws a firm distinction. This isn't about someone telling an offensive joke or a naughty joke that people didn't like. He points out he enjoys offensive comedy—Dave Chappelle, Kill Tony, comedians who make fun of the right or the left.
What Kimmel did was different: he victim-blamed Charlie Kirk's political assassination on Kirk himself. Johnson argues this would be equally monstrous if the political positions were reversed. In fact, he says it would be his duty as someone on the right to disavow anyone victim-blaming a murdered leftist.
Johnson calls this "consequence culture" rather than cancel culture. The 37 million households affected by the affiliate decision didn't want Jimmy Kimmel broadcast into their homes after what he said about Charlie Kirk.
The Double Standard on Political Violence
A significant portion of the interview addresses how different sides of the political spectrum handle violence committed by their ideological allies. Johnson cites specific data: according to Yuggov, the left is three times more likely to believe political violence is an alternative to debate. Additionally, the left is twice as likely to celebrate the death of their political adversaries.
Johnson draws a contrast with how the right responds to violence. When Dylan Roof committed his racist shooting, every Republican came out and condemned it as racism. When violence happens on the left, Johnson argues, the left has not done the same—they haven't named it for what it is.
He emphasizes: "We do not call for murder. We are about nonviolence." This moral clarity, he suggests, distinguishes the right from what he sees as the left-wing corporate media ecosystem.
Charlie Kirk's Dream and Cultural Power
Johnson worked with Charlie Kirk for a decade building Turning Point USA and speaking across the country. He says Kirk's dream was to create cultural power that could reach even into what he calls "the blackened dark heart of Hollywood" and the highest ivory towers to create accountability for monstrous behavior.
The Kimmel situation represents a first—a member of the liberal elite paying a price for their actions in a way that hasn't happened before. Johnson sees this as the beginning of consequence culture, where moral standards can be enforced even against powerful entertainment figures.
Johnson notes the tragic impact of Kirk's death: a widowed wife, orphaned children, and the loss of what he calls a future president. He attributes Kirk's assassination to the rhetoric of the left.
The Next Target: Destiny and Calls for Violence
When asked if there are others on the left doing similar things to Kimmel, Johnson immediately names Destiny, a streamer with a massive audience. Johnson accuses Destiny of making far more gratuitous calls for violence and accelerating those calls against the right.
Destiny is monetized on YouTube and Kick, platforms where he's being paid by big tech to platform these calls for violence, according to Johnson. He wants to make a crucial distinction: "You cannot unite with people who are calling for your death. You cannot unite over a lie."
Johnson acknowledges wanting a unity moment but insists it must first involve accepting that there are people on the other side who have been so far gone and had their brains broken so badly that they want the death of right-wingers, call for it regularly, and celebrate it when it happens. There can be no unity with that element.
CNN's Response and Refusal to Engage
Johnson expresses frustration with CNN's coverage of the Kimmel situation, particularly commentators like Kara Swisher who frame this as proof of what they've been warning about with Donald Trump. CNN refuses to say the name of Johnson's podcast or even his name on air, he claims.
Rather than holding their own side accountable, Johnson argues CNN has decided to whitewash what's happening to Jimmy Kimmel. CNN should have said it's indefensible to make fun of a dead man and a victim of horrific left-wing political violence. Instead, they're defending Kimmel and attacking those who sought accountability.
This refusal by mainstream media to police their own side, Johnson contends, is part of the larger problem that makes unity impossible when one side won't acknowledge basic facts about political violence.
