Jimmy Kimmel Claims He Was Forced To Air Interview On YouTube After Alleged FCC Threats

0:00This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human I survived nine months in captivity and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart and these are the survivor files. Every week I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the survivor files with Elizabeth Smart on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, this is Kylie Breakman, Angel Jaretana, Jeremy Colhane Cash McDonald, and we're the hosts of the artists on artists on artists on artists podcast. The improvised character comedy podcast were each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants. And we do a little Halloween sometimes. Does the Pope dress up? He, he, he, he winks on Halloween. It's right up next in the microphone.

1:00You can, I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each other. You never seen it least so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Listen to artists on artists on artists on artists every Thursday on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're a bookshelf and you're a four-year page or equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse. Each week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and pop culture. With your favorite writers, book talk creators, and plenty of overthought opinions. Yeah, I'm obsessed. So I'm obsessed. Listen to pro society on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Developers with right wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill.

2:01This is our town. A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. I guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to our town on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So what like by Asia, rather than or so, at least 70% have a phone. I'm Dr. Joy and this is Therophy for Black Girls. We spend our surviving middle school run getting into what's happening inside your kids brain, the group chat, and their friendships, and what you can do about it. Your child is not doing this on purpose. That's the kind of perspective we've been pulling from the psychologists and psychiatrists who study this for living. Listen to Therophy for Black Girls on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Hey there, everybody. Looks like Jimmy Kimmel is back at war with the FCC and the Trump administration, but were they ever at peace?

3:02And once again, we're talking about a Democrat from Texas, a Senate candidate whose name has now continued to make national headlines. Talleriko, yes, Kimmel forced to move his interview from his broadcast to YouTube and with that everyone. Welcome to Amy and TJ. And look, this is just history repeating itself. And a lot of people have concerns that now a broadcast show, another late night show, is being pressured by the White House, by the Trump administration, to not air certain content. That's concerning to a lot of folks and potentially not in line with our Constitution, our free press. It's this, the concern. It's not pressure from the White House. The concern is that they cave to it. Okay, so yes, I would prefer, we know what the president is going to do.

4:03We know how he goes about business. We know how car is going about business. But Rob, what do you do here? If you're preemptively making a move to make sure he doesn't come after you, he's scared to hell out of everybody. It's worked. In intimidation has worked. So move on. I mean, stand up to the man who don't at this point, Rob. We're recording this on September 11th. There's a low tolerance right now for this type of petting us, at least in this studio. Right. I mean, this has gotten to a point where everyone is afraid to put certain content up. And if threatened, which Jimmy Kimmel says he was, says ABC was, then what do we do? Well, we'll just go put it on YouTube. Now, Kimmel just dropped this interview with James Talleriko on his YouTube channel. And as of this recording, and it's only been up for, I believe, eight hours. It already has 1.5 million views.

5:04So look, people are still seeing it. They're finding it out. But it's the point of it, the fact that a network, a show, a program, cannot make its own decision about what to put on its air, because they're afraid of the FCC. That's where we're at. And that's what's happening. Or we can just see this as another, just a good PR move. When does, when does, have his ratings gone up, eh? When he's at war with the president. When does it, right? Make a big deal out of this. Ooh, look, look what they did to us. And we had to, so now James Talleriko, we wouldn't be doing this. Talking about James Talleriko, if that interview had aired on broadcast. This is the best thing, by the way, that's ever happened to James Talleriko, because, eh, this is a familiar scene. Think Stephen Colbert, think the view. He has been at the center of so much of the controversy over this fair time that the FCC is making, that they're now trying to apply to talk shows,

6:04to late night shows. And look to your point, if you look at Jimmy Kimmel's YouTube description, they are leaning into this controversy. Yes, they get more ratings. Yes, Talleriko gets more interest and certainly more eyeballs on him. Name recognition is half the battle when it comes to running for office. And his name is Talleriko. He needs a little help. So, and he's getting it. Actually, I can pronounce Talleriko now. Yes, exactly. I wasn't sure how to say it beforehand. Now I know. I want to get your take on this description that Jimmy Kimmel put up under their YouTube episode. Jimmy's interview with Democratic Senate candidate from Texas, James Talleriko, was not televised because of threats from the FCC. So, we're hosting their discussion here on YouTube. James talks about Republicans being scared of him winning. Jesus being co-opted by MAGA, the RNC convention being held in Texas. Not taking money from corporate PACs. Trump calling him a freaky guy and having second thoughts about endorsing his opponent, Ken Paxton, and the GOP making it harder for people to vote.

7:05They already have like tens of thousands of comments. They already have millions of views and they're all rallying around this notion of free speech and censorship. Yes, Rob, was there a direct threat? The way they put it, because of threats. I mean, those threats have been coming constantly, right? For the past year, it seems. So, he could just be saying, this night, was there a threat specifically about James Talleriko this time? So, the White House says, no, the White House spokesperson said this. We got to take them out there, we're worried. Of course, of course. Here is what the White House said in direct reaction to Jimmy Kimmel's public declaration. Kimmel put it like this. I want to make sure I get his words right. He says, now that President Donald Trump is president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings that seems they don't like.

8:05He said, I've interviewed a lot of political candidates from Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz to Donald Trump himself. I interviewed Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2015. And at that time, when he was the one sitting next to me, he seemed to have no problem with the idea of talk show hosts interviewing candidates. I really don't even know what, what are we talking about? The robes, this has happened throughout from the beginning of time. This is just, is how it works. You're classified as something else, bona fide news program. You don't have to, you don't have these equal time rules. That's just how it goes. We get it. You can have a guest on a late night show who's running for office. We do it all the time. And you don't have to have the other guy from the other side. You can do it. It's a different, it's fine. They just don't like robes. This is happening because Talleriko is about to do something potentially in Texas that will freak out the Republican establishment. And that is when a Senate seat in the great state of Texas.

9:05Which has been a Republican stronghold for a very long time. And the guy who would end up beating is the guy that Trump wanted. That he endorsed. Ken Paxton, who has problems, not like John Cornyn. Right? Trump's pissed at Cornyn. Get him out of there. So, all right, this is Trump's guy. Robes, he's got everything into Paxton. If he loses this, it's directly his fault. And so that's why the pressure is being applied. But the White House is denying doing that. And this is what their response was. Oh, sorry, I forgot. Yes. Yes, this is so funny. Speak truth to me, baby. Jimmy Kimmel is play acting as he often does to create a false narrative about this administration's policies. Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talleriko or any other candidate. Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel's egocentric delusion should insist on proof of which they will find none. I will say Kimmel did not get specific. Yes.

10:05He did not. He talked about the general threats. So, it's a play. He's playing the media game. Fine. I got no problem with that at all. I got no problem at all. It's just a little... It's Jimmy Kimmel. Dude, build up your audience. Try to get people to watch. Yes, how many people have made careers out of going at it with this president? We can start naming people. So, yes, the president is good for business sometimes. That's right. And also, by the way, this all comes over the last couple of days. Have you seen it, Page Six reported this week that Kimmel's contract would not be... Obviously, I didn't think that. You don't look at Page Six. But if you just Google Kimmel or you're looking... As I was looking into the story, a bunch of headlines started popping up this week. Page Six reported that Jimmy Kimmel's contract will not be renewed. Of note, though, I was a little taken aback by ABC's response. Kimmel denies it, but this is exactly how ABC worded it. There's a couple of important words in here. This information is inaccurate.

11:06Any reports about the future of the store... Okay, I just screwed that up. Can I start over? Yeah, take it from the top. Let me start over. This information is inaccurate. Any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative. Yeah. We don't have our ducks in a row and don't have the complete plan together. So, obviously, if we don't know for sure how it's all going to come out, then what you're reporting must be inaccurate. That's vague. Not denying. Not saying, nope, that's not going to happen. Yes, ropes. We see the writing here in this statement. Page, that's the clearest signal I've seen to date. Clear that. The Jimmy Kimmel's contract is not going to be renewed. Or they just want to give themselves the option that it hasn't been decided yet, or maybe it has. It's on the dead. Of course it is. But I think we knew that. It's contract went through 2027 anyway, right? They only extended it for a year. And obviously, it was about a year ago, exactly a year ago, that he came back on the air after being suspended for a week,

12:06following comments after Charlie Kirk's assassination. And so, yes, there was incredible pressure to fire Kimmel to get rid of him. Instead, they brought him back because there was a massive uproar, if you might remember, from folks who were, yes, saying free speech, censorship, all the same things that we're hearing now. And it got Kimmel back on the air and gave him a year-long extension. So, perhaps with news that his contract might not be renewed, and ABC not exactly fully supporting a renewed contract, this might be an opportunity for Kimmel to, again, get the public support rallying around him regarding censorship. There you go, baby, because he became a champion, almost a free speech, even if you didn't like, I mean, you had some Republicans even, even just, you know, had to be a Kimmel fan. He found an audience, he found a thing, and he became the champion, right? We'll see how long they left. Uh, yes. And so, when we come back, we're going to tell you what James Telleriko

13:06had to say, because, of course, yes, he too capitalized on these headlines. And just to remind you, you know, ABC is the middle. They just filed a lawsuit against the FCC, so all of this is taking place in the background of a massive lawsuit. I am more outspoken, growing up a lot of the times, because she was so quiet, I would speak for like the both of us. Now I'm working on like, thinking of Mom, and just really knitting. Not completely, before I speak. And Joey King. You know, if your like, mom is yelling at your sibling, and even if you're annoyed with your sibling, you just like won't let that slide.

14:06It's like, you only can yell at your sibling. I'm like, you can't do that here. That is not a lot of talk about her like that. I just look about her like that. Plus, we've been taking your calls, listening to your voice mails and giving advice, or at least trying to. So, if you've got catching up to do, now's the perfect time. Listen to, hey, Jonas, on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and health captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the survivor files. I just remember this low taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who lived through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming.

15:08They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the survivor files with Elizabeth Smart on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're a bookshelf and you're a for-you-page or equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Pro's Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. From best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters,

16:08and that is the Trojan horse, whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place. Listen to Pro's Society on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. Hi, this is Kylie Breikman, Angel Jaretana. Jeremy Colhane, Cash McDonald. And we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists podcast. The Improvised Character Comedy podcast, where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of wellness influencers. What I try to do is foe journal. I don't know, have you guys heard of foe journaling? Yeah, it's reading. It's called reading. So we don't like to use that word anymore. Okay. A panel of New Yorker cartoonists. Have you guys done Terry Gross's Peloton class? No! I've been dying too. I'm so sorry. I'm seeing a reading of Sudako in the Thousand Paper Cranes by Audrey McDonald's at the Wonderland Bookstore, 14.

17:09That's crazy. I went to the Wonderland Bookstore yesterday, and I heard Nora Jones do a reading of Zero Dark Thirty. No way. I'm going to have to come to the last bookstore though. Kim Katrol is reading the guitar tabs of yesterday. A panel of Eurovision participants. And we do a little Halloween sometimes. Does the Pope dress up? He winks on Halloween. It's right up next to the microphone. I hear you get the elbows here. The eyelashes hate each other. You never seen it least so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Listen to artists on artists on artists on the IHERD radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. By azer rather than or so, at least 70% have a phone. Middle school is a different world than the one we grew up in. I'm Dr. Joy and this is therapy for Black Girls. We spent real time on it in our surviving Middle School run, bringing in a child psychologist and a psychiatrist who's raising two Black girls of his own to talk about what's really going on with our kids right now. So it's literally physiological and neurological and psychological chaos,

18:13I mean all this ain't done. We got into group chats and gaming, friendship and bullying, and how to tell the difference between healthy monitoring and the kind of surveillance that erodes trust. There's belonging, you could think of belonging as I can be myself and I can still be accepted. And then there's fitting in. Fitting in says I have to change who I am in order to avoid rejection. Then we turn the conversation toward the fathers, sitting down with therapists, caregames on Black Fatherhood, and what it means to raise a daughter through this stage. You don't have more shorts so you can't do flips, you have more dress up across your legs. That's the range of this run, from screen time to identity to the fathers doing the work at home. You have to get off our device. But the reality is there's a lot of life out there that we don't want you as your adults in the life to miss out on. This has been our surviving middle school run. Brought to you by the people who's been their career thinking about exactly this. I'm Dr. Joy. Listen to therapy for Black girls on the iHeartReneo app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

19:14Welcome back everyone to Amy and TJ. Yes, so Jimmy Kimmel making headlines took his James Tallerico interview from his broadcast. Put it on to YouTube. It's doing gangbusters as he promoted heavily that he was forced to do so because of threats by the FCC. Threats that the FCC says we never made you're making this all up. Still, James Tallerico making the rounds yesterday taking advantage of all of this newfound publicity. Here's what he had to say. I think it's the most dangerous form of cancel culture. People at the top, powerful politicians, powerful media executives, censoring what we watch, what we read, what we say. And that again should be a concern to everyone who believes in the First Amendment and believes in the freedom of speech. And at this point, when he made these statements yesterday, he was still, he said hopeful that ABC would air the interview on Jimmy Kimmel live and not put it on YouTube.

20:21So he was holding out hope he claims. So he was putting ABC executives in that as well in terms of censorship because that was, I think it's fair to say self-censorship. I mean, but as the rule now moving forward, you can no longer have a political candidate of all in the show. Or we just can't have one that's in a competitive race against somebody that the president wants to win. I mean, what is the rule? That's the question. I mean, the FCC issued guidance after all of this with Colbert with the view because they were very upset with the view for having Tallerico on there. Here's the guidance that daytime and late night shows do not have a blanket exemption from laws requiring stations to offer. They are saying that they are bona fide. Yes, that they do need to have equal time. They do need to extend that. So the view Colbert, well, he doesn't exist anymore in terms of his show, but Kimmel and any other late night show they are saying has to provide equal time.

21:21So how close to election day do you have to be to be considered a candidate? That I don't know because Ted Cruz just has his bearded ass on the view. Absolutely. And I'm not saying that it's just speaking colloquially about him. There wasn't an indictment of him in any way. Of course, I'm just saying he I'm just seeing I could see his bearded face sitting there. So what is he not because he's not currently running? Is that okay? Or because he's a Republican, we don't mind. Or is this them trying to get a Republican on because they're going to have a Democrat later? What is it? Yeah, it could have been any or all of the above because when all of this went on and certainly the FCC claims they didn't threaten claims. They haven't done anything, but they did order Disney's eight local television stations owned and operated by ABC to file broadcast licenses way earlier than they were supposed to. And a lot of people looked at that as retaliatory. Okay, and so yes, ABC last month in August has officially filed a lawsuit against the FCC and they are alleging an unconstitutional retaliatory campaign against their network.

22:30So it's so interesting they filed this lawsuit. They claim this is unconstitutional. They claim this is retaliatory. Yeah. And yet Kimmel can't put Talleriko on his broadcast. It might have just been for ratings, maybe it's possible. That's not an exact, what I'm just saying, I should be on the table, it's a possibility. Maybe that's all this is and not that big of a deal. Or are they still running scared from this guy? Yes, those are the questions. Also the FCC, by the way, doesn't claim at all that what they did by asking for these license renewals. It had nothing to do with Talleriko. It had nothing to do with Kimmel or with the view. No, no, no, no. They said they've been investigating Disney's alleged illegal DEI discrimination for more than a year. And they accused ABC and Disney of an ongoing campaign of disinformation. So this is just an absolute mess. The DEI, what? DEI discrimination, illegal DEI discrimination. They're claiming that that's why they've asked for the licenses to be renewed early because they are investigating DEI practices within Disney.

23:36Well, if FCC, you need any help, please call me up. I'll be willing to be interviewed for your investigation. Certainly tell you there was not a DEI situation over there. Wait, you weren't given unfair illegal advantages? Jesus, crime reviews. That was anti-DEI. That was during that period as well as when I was there. Trust me, they were on your team. That was it. I don't know what's going on. But look, this is not going away. This continues. And it does give you just a bad taste in your mouth because you don't know who to trust, who to believe. Is this all just a big game to get us watching? Possibly. And talking. And talking. And voting. But we all want, or at least it's accused that different parties want different candidates to benefit from all of this publicity. And maybe we're all the viewers just pawns in their larger game. Per use. All right, and with that everyone, we always appreciate listening to us. I'm Amy Robock alongside TJ Holmes.

24:37We'll talk soon. I survived nine months in captivity. And I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart. And these are the survivor files. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the survivor files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, this is Kylie Breakman, Angel Jaretana. Jeremy Colhane, Patrick McDonald. And we're the hosts of the artists on artists on artists on artists podcast. The improvised character comedy podcast were each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants. And we do a little Halloween sometimes. Does the Pope dress up? He, he winks on Halloween.

25:37It's right up next to the microphone. You get up. I hear you get the elbows here. The eyelashes hit each other. You never seen it least so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Listen to artists on artists on artists on artists every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're a bookshelf and you're a four-year page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse. Each week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet and pop culture. With your favorite writers, book talk creators and plenty of over thought opinions. Yeah, I'm obsessed. Listen to pro society on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Developers with right wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land.

26:38We need cities on a shining hill. This is our town. A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to our town on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So what like five Asia Revit or so at least 70% have a phone. I'm Dr. Joy and this is Therophy for Black Girls. We spend our surviving middle school run getting into what's happening inside your kids brain, the group chat and their friendships and what you can do about it. Your child is not doing this on purpose. That's the kind of perspective we've been pulling from the psychologists and psychiatrists who study this for living. Listen to therapy for black girls on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.