Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday his move to call Disney's ABC licenses for early renewal is unrelated to the ongoing feud between the White House and Jimmy Kimmel.
Eight Disney-owned ABC affiliates will have to prove to Carr that they have been operating in the public interest.
The licenses are not up for renewal for several years, but the FCC accelerated their renewal process after Kimmel made his controversial "expectant widow" joke last week that prompted President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to call for his firing.
But as Trump and his allies call for ABC to show Kimmel the door, Carr has maintained that the early renewal probe is part of an ongoing look at Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] practices and the Mouse House initially failed to produce necessary documents.
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"It felt to us like they were playing rope-a-dope and weren't being entirely forthcoming with the production. They're going to disagree with that, I'm sure. They get the right to," Carr told reporters during a news conference Thursday.
"If they produced the documents on the original deadline, I don't think we'd be in the same temporal moment as we are right now," Carr continued. "We don't think they were entirely forthcoming."
Carr said the FCC can't "mess around" because discrimination is an important issue.
"Maybe they'll take it more seriously at this point," Carr said.
Disney-owned ABC affiliates' licenses were originally scheduled to be renewed between 2028 and 2031, but Trump's FCC expedited the process.
"Our DEI review is going to continue and is going to be part of that. We are calling their licenses in for early renewal; I think they have eight station licenses. Once they make that filing, then anyone can file petitions to deny," Carr said, adding there is plenty of case law stating public interest expectations for broadcast networks.
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"Disney, as part of the filing, is going to have to come in and demonstrate that they've been operating in the public interest," Carr said. "They're going to have to demonstrate that they've met their burden."
Kimmel had quipped Melania Trump had the glow of an "expectant widow" on his show last week. The joke went viral just days later when an armed assailant stormed a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. As Kimmel's poorly aged joke went viral, President Trump and the first lady each called for ABC to act.
Kimmel, who insisted it was a joke about Trump's age and not an assassination jab, has continued to mock Trump on a nightly basis.
"When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!! President DJT," Trump wrote on Thursday.
During the news conference, Carr was also asked if he agreed with Trump's call for ABC to fire Kimmel.
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"It's not just the president. You've got many members of Congress who have expressed this view. The first lady has expressed her view, the president has expressed his view. … There [are] a lot of people that agree with the president on this one," Carr said at a news conference before being asked if he personally agreed.
"There is a lot of people."
KFSN-TV in Fresno, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WLS-TV in Chicago, WABC-TV in New York, WTVD in North Carolina, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia and KTRK-TV in Houston are the Disney-owned stations named by the FCC.
Disney has said it plans to comply with the FCC's order.
"We have received the Federal Communications Commission's order initiating an accelerated review of the licenses held by ABC's owned television stations," a Disney spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital.
"ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information and public‑interest programming.
"We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels. Our focus remains, as always, on serving viewers in the local communities where our stations operate."
