Jimmy Kimmel Says FCC Is ‘Coming for Us Again’ as Brendan Carr Issues Demands for Late-Night Hosts and The View

Jimmy Kimmel told viewers the FCC is “coming for us again” after new guidance from FCC chairman Brendan Carr that could reshape how late-night and daytime talk shows handle political guests — and he said he has “no idea what the outcome of this is gonna be.”

During his monologue on Thursday, Jan. 22, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host walked audiences through a recent FCC public notice that, in his view, signals a tougher approach to “equal opportunity” requirements when programs feature political figures. Kimmel said the guidance suggests that shows like his may need to provide equivalent airtime to candidates from different parties when politicians appear on air.

A day earlier, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, Carr — an outspoken critic of Jimmy Kimmel Live! who previously argued for a brief suspension of the show in September — posted a statement on X framing the notice as a reminder of what he called an “obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.” Carr also claimed some shows may have been “ignoring or misreading the law in recent years,” and added that “enforcing the statute passed by congress is not weaponization.”

Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and others have pushed back, pointing to a long-standing FCC decision from 2006. That year, the FCC concluded that the similarly formatted The Tonight Show was exempt from the “equal opportunity” language as it had been applied in a specific case. Since then, political candidates have appeared across late-night programs and daytime shows like The View without those programs having to offer opponents matching time.

Kimmel argued on Jan. 22 that the FCC — and Carr, whom he nicknamed “Brendan Cartel” — are “reinterpreting long agreed-upon rules to stifle us.”

“Sometimes there are 20 people from 20 different parties running for the same spot and if you can’t interview all of them, you can’t interview any of them,” Kimmel said.

He also referenced Jay Leno’s 2006 interview with then-California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger, noting that the FCC later ruled the appearance was “not subject to those equal-time” rules — a decision Kimmel said set the practical standard for talk shows for nearly two decades.

“That’s how every talk show has operated since then, until this week,” Kimmel said, adding that Carr now claims his show “no longer qualified” for the exemption.

“It’s a sneaky little way of keeping viewpoints that aren’t his off air,” Kimmel alleged. He called it “his latest attack on free speech,” arguing the media landscape has fundamentally changed since the era when “there were only three major networks.”

Kimmel added that the issue is bigger than one show, describing it as another example of the current administration “trying to squash anyone who doesn’t support them by following ‘the rules…’” He also joked about the show’s long-running efforts to stay compliant with broadcast standards, including “bleeping and blurring the big TV moments of the week, whether they need it or not.”

He had flagged the issue the night before as well. In his Wednesday, Jan. 21 monologue, Kimmel said President Donald Trump’s “minions” at the agency were working to “make it difficult for shows like ours and The View to interview politicians they don’t align with.”

Colbert addressed the same FCC guidance on his Thursday broadcast, calling it an “attempt to silence me, Jimmy and Seth [Meyers].” He then added a sarcastic jab of his own: “Hey, I’m flattered you think that appearing on my show has the power to affect politics in any way,” before joking that if the government had turned out the way he wanted, the FCC wouldn’t have the power to make the announcement.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weekdays on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET.