Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel took aim at Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr during his show Tuesday, stating, “We are still here,” in reference to past regulatory threats.
Kimmel marked the 4,000th episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” by addressing a clash with Carr that occurred in 2025. At the time, Carr warned ABC and Disney that the FCC could take action over comments Kimmel made about an individual accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025. Carr had stated that companies could "change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
Kimmel appeared to reference Carr’s “hard way” remarks, stating, “There are even those who used the regulatory might of the FCC to unconstitutionally try to make sure we didn’t last this long. But we did it the hard way, Brendan. And we are still here.”
In September 2025, Kimmel suggested that the suspected assassin of Kirk, Tyler Robinson, was a member of the “MAGA gang” and that some were attempting to characterize the individual as other than politically motivated.
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger previously defended the company's decision to briefly suspend Kimmel following the remarks, calling them “in bad taste” and stating that Kimmel was asked to apologize for an “ill-timed and probably inappropriate comment.” Iger clarified in an interview with the Financial Times in June that the suspension was not an attempt to appease the Trump administration.
Kimmel also used his 4,000th episode to criticize President Donald Trump, stating that Trump had accomplished nothing over the summer. He drew parallels between his own perceived inaction and Trump's, criticizing inflation, Trump's approval numbers, and the war in Iran.