Kimmel “Play-Acting” Over James Talarico Interview & FCC Threats; White House Claims Late Night Host Spinning “False Narrative”

The White House has accused Jimmy Kimmel and his network of spinning a false narrative about federal pressure to cancel an interview with James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Texas' U.S. Senate election. According to Kimmel, ABC wouldn't air the interview due to threats from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Talarico expressed concern about "government censorship" in an interview with MS Now's Symone Sanders-Townsend, saying it should be a concern for all, regardless of party affiliation. He added that if the interview isn't broadcast as planned, he would consider himself "censored". The interview was instead posted to the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" YouTube channel.

Kimmel stated on his show that the FCC threatened him, his show, network, and affiliates over the booking of Talarico as a guest. Talarico remains hopeful that the decision could be reversed to air the interview.

Brief written by urgent.news from Deadline, TheWrap, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The A.V. Club — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.