Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel bashed FCC chair Brendan Carr in a skit on a new episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Tuesday.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returned to the airwaves on Tuesday after it was suspended "indefinitely" last week by Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group. The companies said Kimmel made "insensitive" comments about the person who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university on September 10. Nexstar and Sinclair both continued preempting the airing of Kimmel's show on Tuesday, a move that impacted about 70 local ABC affiliates nationwide.
The suspension came after FCC chair Brendan Carr made comments on a MAGA-aligned podcast saying the agency could "find ways to change conduct" of companies that broadcast content it disagreed with.
Kimmel addressed his show's suspension in a skit with actor Robert De Niro.
Kimmel told the audience that he was going to interview Carr on the show, who was played by De Niro.
"Maybe you're the wrong guy to talk to, but it seems like the FCC is using mob tactics to suppress free speech," Kimmel said.
"What the f--- did you just say to me?" De Niro said.
"You can't cuss!" Kimmel replied. "You'll get fined by the FCC."
"I am the FCC," De Niro said. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Sounds like threats and intimidation to me," Kimmel added.
