Disney Sues FCC Over Trump-Backed Retaliation Against ABC

The Walt Disney Company has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) alleging retaliation after President Donald Trump called for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired. The dispute stems from a April joke made by Kimmel at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, in which he jokingly referred to Melania Trump as having 'the glow of an expectant widow.'

Two days later, a gunman shot a Secret Service agent outside the venue where the Trumps were attending the dinner. President Trump responded by calling the joke a 'despicable call to violence' and stating that Kimmel should be 'immediately fired by Disney and ABC.' The following day, the FCC ordered Disney to seek early license renewals for all eight of its ABC-owned television stations.

The lawsuit, filed on August 18th, claims that the FCC's decision was in retaliation for Trump's call for Kimmel's firing. It argues that the agency's actions were a violation of Disney's First Amendment rights and that it is seeking to restore a standard of broadcasting that prioritizes 'operating in the public interest.'

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has defended the agency's actions, stating that broadcasters have a duty to operate in the public interest and that the FCC is trying to restore this standard.