The Federal Communications Commission has launched a rare and significant review of ABC’s broadcast licenses, signaling a major regulatory shift for a network currently embroiled in controversy.
This move by the FCC puts ABC’s parent company, Disney, in the hot seat as it faces mounting pressure from the White House over the increasingly personal and corrosive tone of its late-night programming.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has linked the investigation to Disney’s corporate diversity mandates, but the review follows a series of sharp criticisms from the agency regarding media bias. Carr has previously warned that networks could face license scrutiny if their conduct fails to serve the public interest.
The regulatory heat intensified after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump demanded the firing of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. During a Thursday broadcast, Kimmel referred to the First Lady as an “expectant widow,” a comment the President labeled a “despicable call to violence.”
The remark was broadcast just 48 hours before an armed suspect, 31-year-old Cole Allen, was arrested at the Washington Hilton with a shotgun, handgun, and knives in an alleged assassination attempt.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” the First Lady wrote on X, calling his words “corrosive” and accusing ABC of “running cover” for the host. “It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
While Kimmel attempted to downplay the remark on Monday as a “light roast” about the couple’s 24-year age difference, the President argued the joke was “far beyond the pale” given the current security environment. Trump called for Disney and ABC to terminate Kimmel immediately, citing the “sinister” motives of the individual arrested at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Kimmel remained defiant on air Monday, claiming the joke referred to the “look of joy” on the First Lady’s face and dismissing the idea that his monologue could incite violence.
Instead, he pivoted the blame back toward the administration, suggesting the President should “dial back” his own rhetoric.
With the FCC now scrutinizing the legal standing of ABC’s licenses, the entertainment giant faces a dual challenge: defending its corporate policies against federal regulators while answering for the conduct of its most prominent late-night personality.
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