{"id":8791,"date":"2025-09-22T14:37:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/?p=8791"},"modified":"2025-09-22T17:05:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T21:05:15","slug":"free-speech-unless-you-hurt-the-presidents-feelings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/2025\/09\/22\/free-speech-unless-you-hurt-the-presidents-feelings\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Speech…Unless You Hurt The President’s Feelings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cCongress shall make no law respecting an<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a senior in college studying communications and media production, I have found the recent events circling the news cycle to be especially alarming. On September 17, ABC pulled \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d off the air indefinitely. With Kimmel\u2019s suspension, a haunting pattern is starting to arise surrounding censorship and freedom of speech in the Trump era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This July, CBS announced that \u2018The Late Show\u2019 starring Stephen Colbert will end after its’ tenth season. Colbert as well as the other late-night hosts including, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers, have been very critical of President Trump and his campaign. Many people saw Colbert\u2019s cancelation as an attack on free speech and the First Amendment. Trump commented after the news of The Late Show\u2019s end: \u201cNext up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon.\u201d<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s resentment towards these late <\/s>-night comedians is nothing new. The President has always made his hatred known about the \u201cless talented\u201d Jimmy Kimmel who called him out at the 96th<\/sup> Academy Awards. \u201cIsn\u2019t it past your jail time?\u201d Kimmel quipped after reading aloud a Truth Social post from the President commenting on the comedian\u2019s hosting abilities. Throughout his time in politics, Trump has always threatened Late Night, but what were only words are now becoming a reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jimmy Kimmel is now off the air. This comes after Kimmel\u2019s controversial comments about Charlie Kirk\u2019s death. Here were his comments: \u201cThe MAGA gang is desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After these comments, FCC chairman, Brendan Carr issued a warning to ABC: \u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly on Kimmel or there\u2019s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats weren\u2019t the only ones taken aback by the FCC\u2019s clear threat. Here\u2019s what republican Senator, Ted Cruz, had to say about Carr\u2019s words: \u201cI think it is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying we\u2019re going to decide what speech we like and what we don\u2019t, and we\u2019re going to threaten to take you off air if we don\u2019t like what you\u2019re saying.\u201d He then proceeded to say that Carr\u2019s words were \u201cdangerous as hell.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former President Barack Obama also spoke out about Kimmel\u2019s suspension saying, \u201cAfter years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn\u2019t like.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump responded to Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s suspension with another post on Truth Social. \u201cCongratulations to ABC for having the courage to do what had to be done,\u201d<\/a> Trump commented,<\/s>.  \u201cKimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than Colbert, if that\u2019s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on fake news NBC.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is unsettling. When I saw this news break, I was shocked. Not because this isn\u2019t expected from this administration, but because it\u2019s actually happening. It used to only be threats, words, but now, voices are being removed because of views, a double standard that must be upheld by the right. On Thursday, Trump said, \u201cThey’re 97% against, they give me wholly bad publicity… I mean, they’re getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away.\u201d<\/a> Yes, this is a real quote from the current sitting President, and that should be terrifying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we remove every voice that criticizes our government, where does that leave us? What precedent does that set for the future? I firmly believe that we are seeing the first amendment fall apart in front of us. Trump said that Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are next, like it\u2019s a deranged Late night checklist. I do believe that those shows will get cancelled because a pattern is starting to emerge. Comedian\u2019s and anybody with a platform are not allowed to speak ill of our President, and he just admitted it to our faces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier I mentioned a double standard. It\u2019s important to note that while Fox News is a cable channel and cable channels are not subject to FCC guidelines, Fox News has been a platform that has been vocalizing hate towards the left forever, and I think that is totally fine. It\u2019s free speech. Both sides should have the right to speak their minds, but now we are seeing censorship, and it may not be the President who is directly canceling these shows, but it is \u201cjawboning,\u201d which is when a government official uses their position to pressure a private company to act a certain way. And this violates the First Amendment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, pressure is mounting on Disney over suspending Jimmy Kimmel. Disney isn\u2019t new to political controversy, but now many people are calling for a boycott against the company, with many celebrities calling for everyone to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions. Tatiana Maslany, the star of Marvel\u2019s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Which is streaming on Disney+), posted on Instagram, urging people to cancel their subscriptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimmel was reportedly cancelled because he suggested that Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassin was one of \u201cthem.\u201d Here\u2019s what Republican Representative Nancy Mace had to say about the alleged Charlie Kirk assassin. \u201cWe don\u2019t know Charlie Kirk\u2019s condition right now and some raging leftist lunatic put a bullet through his neck and you want to talk about Republicans right now? No.\u201d<\/a> In a recent interaction with former CNN host, Don Lemon, Mace referred to alleged Charlie Kirk assassin\u2019s trans roommate using trans slurs multiple times saying, \u201cThe t****** can eff off.\u201d<\/a> Again, I bring up the double standard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look, I graduate in about seven months, and I\u2019m already starting to search for jobs. As someone who hopes to work in film, television, and\/or broadcasting, I find this discouraging. These shows being cancelled don\u2019t only affect the host, but the hundreds of employees who make those shows happen. Not only is this an eraser of speech, but an eraser of jobs. Here\u2019s what SUNY Cortland students majoring in Communication and Media Productions have to say about these shows\u2019 cancellations: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Com student, Morgan Robideau, says, \u201cAs someone hoping to pursue a career in tv or film, it\u2019s scary and discouraging to see shows get cancelled because they don\u2019t perfectly align with the current administration.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe silencing of Jimmy Kimmel is a disgrace to art,\u201d says media production student, Chase Mason. \u201cWe should use our platforms to freely talk about topics concerning our country, where free speech should be encouraged, not punished. Our President has reminded us of his bias once more.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media production student, Mickey Corey, says, “I find it shameful that the network would violate the right we all have as Americans to freedom of speech. I find it ironic that republicans claim to be the free speech party but are spearheading censorship.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, a free speech rally<\/a> was held in Times Square as the discourse surrounding Kimmel continues. SAG-AFTRA and the WGA<\/a> also put out statements condemning the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” As of right now, Kimmel continues to be in talks<\/a> with Disney to negotiate his return to television. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edit (9\/22\/25): Disney has unsuspended Jimmy Kimmel and his show will return Tuesday after having “thoughtful conversations”<\/a> with Kimmel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.\u201d  As a senior in college studying communications and media production, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":8858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured-news-article","8":"category-opinions","9":"entry"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/09\/KIMMEL.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/09\/KIMMEL.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Andrew Oliva","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/author\/andrew-oliva\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}