Six lessons I Learned From the Suspension of Jimmy Kimmel

Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash

By now you have likely heard the news that, under pressure from the Trump administration, ABC has suspended late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely over his comments on how the Trump administration has reacted to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Here are the six biggest lessons I have learned—or at least had reinforced—by the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel this week.

1. Values expressed by large media conglomerates are merely painted on and don't really exist

In case this wasn't obvious already, when large media conglomerates express values such as patriotism, inclusivity, or freedom of expression, it's all made up and not real.

These are large, often multinational, companies that exist to make money. They regularly give into demands from governments around the world so that they can continue to make money in as many countries as possible.

These companies don't fight for the rights of their content producers because they don't really value those rights—they value money. I wish this were not the case, but it is. Don't be fooled by the images these companies present of themselves, which are often coded as liberal and inclusive.

2. All content producers should make a plan in the event that they get cancelled

Before I started by own business, I knew that I wanted one of the pillars of this business to be Substack. I had two main reasons for this. First, Substack is a great way to have a blog again, which is something that is really in my wheelhouse given that I worked at blogs for 20 years. Second, Substack has demonstrated a clear commitment to protecting the freedom of expression and rights of its content producers, unlike basically every other social media platform and large media conglomerate out there. In other words, having a Substack was, in part, a cancellation protection plan.

The sad truth is that, as a content producer these days, you need a plan to avoid, or at least survive, cancellation. There are a wide variety of people who can go after you, so before you decide to make a living from self-produced content, you need to develop a plan in case someone does. Please read my article on this topic, “Five Things to Do When Donald Trump, or Anyone Else, Threatens Your Livelihood,” for more information.

3. Dissenting can have consequences, but we need to continue to dissent anyway

Here at Wolves and Sheep, Matt and I have repeatedly said that one of the most important actions anyone can take to fight creeping authoritarianism in the United States is to continue to dissent. In fact, two of our most popular articles are on that exact topic: “What Murkowski Didn't Say: The Alaska Republican made a rare admission—with an important omission,” and “The Two Essential Strategies to Reducing Trump's Power: Lower his poll numbers, and don't be afraid to dissent.”

One clarification I should add to these articles (or at least my own article), is that while I think you do need to continue dissenting without fear, it is possible that dissenting will have negative consequences. For the vast majority of people, those consequences will be getting into arguments with some friends and family members. However, depending on where you work, and depending on how prominent you are, those consequences can be more severe. Depending on your immigration status, the consequences can be even worse.

However, you need to continue to dissent anyway. You just need to decide that you value your ability to dissent more than the consequences you will suffer for doing so.

4. I didn't agree with everything Jimmy Kimmel said, but it is essential to defend his right to say it

I expressed my views on how I thought people should react to the murder of Charlie Kirk the day after it happened, and I stand by those comments. Before the Kimmel incident, that article was all I had intended to say about the matter. I definitely would not have used my platform in the way Kimmel did. In my opinion, it was better to just denounce the killing, denounce all political violence, and move on, no matter how many political points the Trump administration and other conservatives were trying to score off of it.

However, Kimmel had every right to say the things that he did, as there is absolutely nothing in his comments that rises to the level of fighting words or defamatory statements against individuals. The Trump administration is completely out of line, and acting in an authoritarian manner, in their efforts to use their power to take Kimmel off the air over this. Companies like Disney, ABC, Nexstar and Sinclair should be defending Kimmel's rights even if they disagree with his words. Of course, I know perfectly well that these companies will do no such thing, as protecting the rights of their content producers is not really something they are interested in doing.

5. Kimmel shouldn't bother trying to get his job back

Kimmel is super rich and clearly values speaking his mind. He should honestly just find a different platform where he can do it, rather than continue as a pop culture talk show host working for a company that isn't interested in defending its employees’ rights to freedom of expression. That is basically what Bill Maher, the host who Kimmel succeeded in his time slot on ABC, did after he was cancelled back in 2002 (ironically, clearing a path for the “less controversial” Kimmel).

If you are not financially dependent on working for an organization that won't let you be the person you want to be, then just leave and go live your life the way you want to live it. Life is far too short to do otherwise.

6. When we retake power, let's defend everyone's rights

Leaving aside the specific issue of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension for a moment, I would like to close with a thought about the state of freedom of expression in America more generally these days.

It is really easy to defend the rights of people who you like and agree with, but increasingly difficult to defend the rights of those who you disagree with or view as members of a rival “out group.” It has become difficult to do this because the Internet is really good at serving up the absolute worst things that your political opponents and members of rival out groups say. Also, you may get attacked by members of your own “group” for defending the rights of your political opponents.

Due to these twin pressures, there are not many people defending the rights of those with whom they disagree or just don't like. I believe this has put us in a dangerous place as a country. When the Trump administration is over—and it will indeed one day be over—I certainly hope that we Democrats do not become a blue version of retributive MAGA governance. So, even as we are defending Jimmy Kimmel’s right to free expression, let's please keep in mind that we need to defend freedom of expression for all Americans.