A CNN anchor blasted a Republican on Thursday during a heated exchange over free speech in the aftermath of Jimmy Kimmel's show getting pulled indefinitely, asking, "Who do you want free speech for?"
Brianna Keilar pressed Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) during a live broadcast, responding to his comments over Kimmel's suspension and calling him out for "going in circles" around the topic and the First Amendment.
"Is this free speech? But only for the right? No free speech for the left? Do you want free speech for all? Who do you want free speech for and why should it be limited, considering the First Amendment is very clear that it's for everyone?" Keilar asked.
Moore had tried to argue that companies can make decisions "to take voices down based on what they're saying" and revenue, then tried to make a comparison to social media companies and their algorithms.
Keilar mentioned that in 2022, he talked about it on X, sharing what he said in the past.
"You said on then Twitter, now X, 'big of their left wing CEOs. Speech isn't truly free if the left dictates every word, now the left is losing their minds that Elon Musk will allow free speech.'"
"Why do you think it's a business decision, considering they haven't said it was?" She pressed.
She called him out for referencing the company's decision, which has not been announced. He also tried to cite the ratings and referred to it as a "business decision."
Keilar talked about the FCC Chair Brendan Carr's stern threat in a podcast interview on Wednesday, pushing back again on Moore's claims.
"That's just not believable," she added.
Carr threatened immediate action against Kimmel, ABC and Disney over his satirical comments Monday night during his show, claiming he deliberately misled the public and said "it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible" in the wake of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk's killing. He also said that Kimmel should be suspended and that ABC should lose its broadcast license.
Hours later, Kimmel was suspended.
