James Talarico calls FCC pressure on his Jimmy Kimmel interview ‘the most dangerous form of cancel culture’

The Texas Senate candidate says government pressure on media outlets should concern Americans regardless of political party.
Texas Senate candidate James Talarico is speaking out after his interview with Jimmy Kimmel was pulled from ABC’s broadcast schedule and moved to YouTube amid concerns over pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.
Talarico, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, called the situation “the most dangerous form of cancel culture” in an interview with MS NOW, according to Variety’s report.
“Government censorship should be a concern to all of us, regardless of our political party,” Talarico said.
The controversy centers on the FCC’s increasingly aggressive interpretation of the “equal time” rule, which requires broadcasters to provide comparable opportunities to opposing political candidates under certain circumstances. Historically, late-night and daytime talk shows have operated under exemptions for bona fide news programming.
Kimmel announced Wednesday that his interview with Talarico would not air on ABC, citing concerns about the FCC and its chairman, Brendan Carr, and the potential consequences for ABC’s local affiliates.
“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.
Instead, the interview was posted in full to the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” YouTube channel.
Talarico said the issue extends beyond his own campaign and should concern anyone who values freedom of expression.
“People at the top, powerful politicians, powerful media executives, censoring what we watch, what we read, what we say,” he said. “That, again, should be a concern to everyone who believes in the First Amendment and believes in the freedom of speech.”
The situation is familiar for Talarico. Earlier this year, an interview he recorded with Stephen Colbert was also prevented from airing on CBS over concerns about the FCC’s equal-time rules. The interview was subsequently released online and drew millions of views, while Talarico’s campaign reported raising $2.5 million in the following 24 hours.
Now, Talarico’s latest appearance has become another test of how far government regulators can go in influencing what broadcasters choose to put on the air — and whether those decisions ultimately affect the public’s access to political candidates.
For Talarico, the answer is clear: “I’m still hopeful that we can have this interview on the air.”
For now, viewers can find it online instead.
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