Whose Free Speech?

So famous he still needs a name tag?

Many on the left have said that ABC suspending Jimmy Kimmel was or would be a violation of his freedom of speech.

I think we need to make some distinctions. If you say ABC cannot cancel Kimmel no matter what he says, you are ignoring ABC’s free speech rights. That would be compelled speech. ABC is a publisher; it has a right to publish whom they choose, because Kimmel represents them to the public. Imagine if a corporation hired an advertising firm, and then was legally required to run their ads no matter what they sent in.

The issue is different for online platforms like YouTube or Facebook or X. They are considered to merely be providing a service, like the phone company or an ISP. This gives them special legal protections. They are the “public square.” Nobody simply speaking on YouTube represents YouTube. So if they silence anyone, they are indeed violating their freedom of speech.

And the issue is different for “blacklisting”—that is, cancelling or silencing someone not for what they are saying, but for something they said at some other time or on some other platform. That does seem a violation of freedom of speech. It has a chilling effect on public discourse.

If government steps in and requires ABC to cancel Kimmel, openly or behind the scenes, on pain of retribution, this is a violation of freedom of speech—of ABC’s freedom of speech as well as Kimmel’s.

But even the government has the right to block slanderous speech, libel, incitement to violence, or pornography. Slander, libel, or incitement to violence are not just speech, but also deed; they are performative, and can materially harm others. Pornography is not necessarily performative, but may be socially undesirable. Similarly, the government has the right to arrest someone for walking about naked or masturbating in front of children. And no inalienable rights are violated in censoring it. Freedom of speech protects opinions, information and artistic expression, for the sake of public discourse and conscience, and not personal fetishes. 

I hope this clarifies matters. 

Should Kimmel be fired? I urge ABC to do so.

Kimmel Refuses to Apologize or Correct the Record

 

Jimmy Kimmel’s “apology” show, after his brief suspension, was not an apology. He did not admit he had said anything wrong. He lied about the initial lie. And he maintained that Christians must forgive him anyway.

This cannot stand. This makes it an imperative matter of principle to condemn his behaviour as severely as possible.

This is not to say that Brendan Carr and the FTC should step in and pull licenses, or threaten to. Although there is an argument for this, since the airwaves are a public trust. This would not be, moreover, a matter of cancelling someone for their opinions. There is a critical difference between an opinion and an objective fact. It can be demonstrated objectively, as in a court of law, that Kimmel told a lie, and with the intent to slander his political opponents. That is not fair game. Nevertheless, it is unwise to set this precedent.

On the other hand, it is also not enough just to boycott, to resolve not to watch Kimmel anymore. Who watches him now anyway?

It is not enough to boycott ABC. Who watches it now anyway?

It is not enough to boycott Disney, the parent company. Most on the right are already boycotting. Most are not very interested in watching anything from Disney now anyway.

If lack of viewership were enough to get Kimmel cancelled, he should have been cancelled by now.

He has been propped up this long because the left have claimed for themselves the moral high ground.

What we need is a moral appeal, an appeal to conscience, an “appeal to heaven.” Every decent person who has voice must publicly condemn his behaviour. Those who do not have any public platform can at least write in to their local ABC affiliate, if in the US, write to his advertisers, and express their ire. Those watching online can put comments on videos. Express clearly that his apology is not acceptable.

This is not, and need not be, a call for cancellation. If Kimmel were even now to admit wrongdoing, apologize, correct his initial statement, and pledge to avoid such partisanship in the future, we could and should forgive. I would certainly be ready to. But he has now publicly refused to do so.

Just as souls choose Hell rather than admit their sins, Kimmel has chosen his fate.