Kimmel says FCC pressure prompted ABC to keep his Talarico interview off broadcast television, shifting it to YouTube instead.
Jimmy Kimmel announced during his Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2026 monologue on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that his interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico would not air on ABC broadcast television as originally scheduled for Thursday, and would instead be posted in full on the show's YouTube channel, according to Reuters and The New York Times.
Kimmel's Explanation and the FCC Backdrop
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Kimmel told viewers that pressure from the Federal Communications Commission, now chaired by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, drove the decision. Reuters quoted Kimmel saying, "Now that he is president, his FCC threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple traditional editorial decisions - guest bookings it would seem they don't like." The New York Times described the move as the latest development in a "yearlong battle" between ABC and the FCC. No public FCC order specifically barring the Talarico interview has been identified in current reporting; one outlet, IBTimes UK, noted there is "no indication that the FCC issued an order specifically prohibiting ABC from airing Kimmel's Talarico interview," framing the account as Kimmel's own characterization.
The episode follows a similar dispute in February 2026, when CBS's Stephen Colbert said his own Talarico interview was pulled from broadcast over fears of violating FCC equal-time guidance, according to the Associated Press. CNBC reported CBS denied prohibiting that broadcast. The FCC had issued guidelines in January 2026 requiring entertainment talk shows to provide equal airtime to opposing candidates, according to The New York Times.
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Reactions From Talarico and FCC's Gomez
Texas state Rep. James Talarico called the decision "the most dangerous form of censorship" and "cancel culture," according to Deadline and Mediaite. FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, the commission's lone Democrat, said Kimmel's move amounted to "self-censorship" and evidence that the Trump administration's effort to "control" media was succeeding, according to TVNewsCheck. The interview was expected to be released Thursday on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" YouTube channel, where broadcast equal-time rules do not apply in the same manner, per Reuters and NBC News.
