FCC Expected To Seek Early License Renewals Of Disney Stations

Th FCC reportedly is preparing to direct ABC stations to file early renewals of their licenses, a move that quickly drew criticism from the commission’s sole Democrat.

Semafor and NBC News reported that the agency was preparing to seek the early renewals.

The FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr already has been investigating Disney over its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. But the network has been under pressure from the Trump administration to fire Jimmy Kimmel, following a joke last week he made about First Lady Melania Trump being an “expectant widow.” That joke came days before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, forcing Secret Service to rush Trump, the first lady and Vice President JD Vance from the dais.

An FCC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the commission, said in a statement, “This is unprecedented, unlawful, and going nowhere. It is a political stunt and it won’t stick. Companies should challenge it head-on. The First Amendment is on their side.”

Station licenses do not com up for renewal until 2028. Disney has not yet commented.

Kimmel was doing an “alternative” Correspondents’ Dinner roast, and quipped, “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

Kimmel did not apologize for his joke on Monday’s show.

Kimmel said, “This was Thursday. There was no big reaction to it, until this morning, when I greeted the day facing yet another Twitter vomit storm and a call to fire me from our First Lady, Melania Trump, saying I should be fired because of a joke I made again five nights ago. It was a pretend roast,” he said. “It obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination, and they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence, but I understand that the First Lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house.”

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said, “Jimmy Kimmel is a shit human being for: #1. Making a disgusting joke about assassinating the President #2. Doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing ABC needs to fire him immediately and he should be shunned for the rest of his life.”

More to come.