- Obama criticized the Trump administration in his response to ABC's decision to take Jimmy Kimmel's show off the air.
- The former president said the Trump administration had taken "cancel culture" to "a new and dangerous level."
- As conservatives celebrated ABC's decision, scores of celebrities and politicians have voiced support for Kimmel.
Former President Barack Obama responded to ABC's decision to indefinitely take Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show off the air and warned of "government coercion."
"After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like," Obama said in a post on X.
"This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it," he said in a response.
Washington has largely split along party lines in the wake of ABC's shocking suspension of the late-night host on Wednesday following Kimmel's comments on the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
President Donald Trump and his allies have praised the network's decision to "indefinitely" suspend Kimmel after FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, pressured Disney before local TV stations revolted, and ultimately, ABC took action.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. "These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
In contrast, Democrats are aghast, saying that Kimmel's suspension is an affront to the First Amendment. Like Hollywood, many in the party are rallying around the host.
