Actress Jane Fonda denounced the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) reviewing ABC’s broadcasting license after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel joked about President Trump’s death.
Fonda shared her thoughts on the controversy in a statement to Variety.
“FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s latest order to review the broadcast license of all ABC stations is a naked attempt to weaponize government power against dissent,” Fonda said.
“What we are seeing fits a deliberate and deeply troubling pattern of authoritarian regimes throughout history — and it should alarm anyone who believes in the First Amendment and the fundamental principle that the government has no authority to decide who gets to speak in a free society,” she added. “Together, we must call this out clearly and forcefully for what it is: the systematic use of federal power to narrow the range of acceptable speech until only approved voices remain.”
On Monday, both the president and the First Lady called on ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel after he joked about Trump’s death during a mock White House Correspondents Dinner, referring to Melania Trump as an “expectant widow.”
“Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “He showed a fake video of the First Lady, Melania, and our son, Barron, like they were actually sitting in his studio, listening to him speak, which they weren’t, and never would be. He then stated, ‘Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.’ A day later, a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives. He was there for a very obvious and sinister reason. I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence… Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Kimmel later said he meant it to be a “light roast joke.”
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination. And they know that,” Kimmel said. “I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular. But I understand that the First Lady had a stressful experience over the weekend. And probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”
The previous Saturday, a man — now identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen — allegedly intended to target the president and several of his cabinet members during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, Allen allegedly traveled across the country by train and came to the Washington Hilton armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
“Administration officials (not including Mr. [Kash] Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” he allegedly wrote in his manifesto before later adding, “I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”
Authorities reportedly apprehended Allen as he tried to storm a security checkpoint on the floor above where the event was being held, firing two shots before the U.S. Secret Service apprehended him. Only one Secret Service agent sustained gunfire but was saved by his bulletproof vest. No further injuries were sustained.
During a press conference following the incident, President Trump, who had previously survived two assassination attempts, encouraged Americans to peacefully resolve their differences.
“I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our difference peacefully. We have to we have to resolve our differences. I will say, you had Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Conservatives, Liberals, and Progressives. Those words are interchangeable perhaps, but maybe they’re not,” Trump said. “But yet everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd, there was a record-setting group of people. And there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together. I watched, I watched and I was very, very impressed by that.”