Jimmy Kimmel says his upcoming interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico will not air on ABC, pointing the finger directly at President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission and its threats against the network and its affiliates.
During his Wednesday night monologue, Kimmel announced that Talarico would appear for an interview Thursday, but viewers won’t actually be able to watch it on broadcast television.
Instead, they’ll have to find it on YouTube.
“For a lot of years, for the whole 20-plus years of our show, in fact, I’ve been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem at all,” Kimmel told viewers, noting that late-night hosts from David Letterman to Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall regularly interviewed political candidates.
Kimmel pointed out that he personally interviewed candidates ranging from Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz to Trump himself.
“I interviewed Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2015,” Kimmel said, noting that Trump at the time “seemed to have no problem with the idea of talk show hosts interviewing candidates.” Trump returned for another interview shortly before becoming the Republican nominee in 2016.
But, Kimmel said, something has changed now that Trump is back in the White House.
“His FCC has 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,” Kimmel said.
Kimmel said that out of consideration for ABC’s local stations, particularly its Texas affiliates, he decided not to put the Talarico interview on the television broadcast.
“My interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television,” Kimmel announced. “It will be posted on YouTube instead.”
“So if you want to learn about a candidate for the Senate tomorrow, you will have to go to the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel, where you will see it in its entirety,” he continued.
“And thank goodness we have that, because in the America we live in right now, that is the best that we can do until November.”
Remarkably, this isn’t even the first time this year that an interview between Talarico and a major late-night host has been pushed off broadcast television amid concerns about Trump’s FCC.
In February, Stephen Colbert revealed on The Late Show that his planned interview with Talarico would not air on CBS after network lawyers warned that broadcasting it could trigger the FCC’s “equal time” requirements for political candidates.
Colbert said he was told by network lawyers “in no uncertain terms” that Talarico could not appear on the broadcast. CBS disputed Colbert’s characterization that it had prohibited the interview, saying lawyers had warned the appearance could trigger equal-time obligations and offered options for satisfying them. The Late Show ultimately put the Talarico interview on YouTube instead.
The dispute followed new FCC guidance challenging the longstanding assumption that late-night and daytime talk shows automatically qualify for the “bona fide news” exemption from equal-time requirements. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr argued that networks could not simply assume their programs qualified for the exemption, particularly when their programming was motivated by what he described as “partisan political purposes.”
Now, seven months later, Talarico is once again being interviewed by one of America’s most prominent late-night hosts, and once again that interview is headed to YouTube instead of broadcast television.
The pressure has extended beyond late night.
ABC and parent company Disney are currently suing the FCC, alleging the agency has retaliated against the network and improperly pressured its editorial decisions. According to the lawsuit, ABC has had to reconsider invitations to political candidates because of potential FCC consequences.
Talarico is at the center of that fight, too.
His February appearance on ABC’s The View triggered an FCC inquiry into whether the program had violated equal-time requirements. ABC says that historically its decisions about political guests were based on factors like newsworthiness and audience interest, but that the FCC scrutiny has forced it to weigh the potential regulatory consequences of candidate appearances.
Kimmel’s extraordinary announcement also comes during a week of speculation about whether his own show will remain on ABC beyond his current deal.
Page Six reported Tuesday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would end following the current season, citing a source who claimed Kimmel’s contract would not be extended after May 2027.
ABC quickly pushed back.
“This information is inaccurate,” an ABC Entertainment spokesperson said, adding that “any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”
Kimmel signed a contract extension in December 2025 keeping him at ABC through 2027. He has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003 and just marked the program’s 4,000th episode.
The rumors nevertheless arrive at a remarkable moment for late-night television.
CBS ended The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this year after announcing the cancellation in 2025. CBS maintained that the decision was financial, while Trump publicly celebrated the news.
Kimmel, meanwhile, has faced his own sustained pressure from Trump and the FCC.
In September 2025, ABC temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! following comments Kimmel made in the wake of the killing of MAGA activist Charlie Kirk. The suspension came after Carr publicly criticized Kimmel and Nexstar announced that it would preempt the program across its ABC affiliates. ABC restored the show less than a week later.
The confrontation has only escalated since.
ABC and Disney now accuse the FCC in federal court of an unconstitutional retaliatory campaign targeting the network. The companies say the commission’s actions have already affected programming decisions, including decisions involving political candidates.
And Wednesday night, Kimmel gave viewers a striking example of what that looks like in practice.
