The Center for American Rights filed a complaint against ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel with the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, accusing the late-night host of “unlawful politicking” through his show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
The organization accused the comedian of improperly using public airwaves, which are governed by the FCC, to amplify political candidates he has donated to without disclosing his contributions. It requested that the FCC investigate the show, arguing it was the most prominent example of a systemic issue in late-night television.
“Late-night hosts are notorious for using their airtime to support the left and disparage the right. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel is perhaps the worst offender,” Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, said in a statement. “What’s no laughing matter is Kimmel’s consistent disregard for the FCC’s conflict-of-interest policies, which prohibit using the airwaves to advance his personal political agenda.”
In its complaint, the group points to multiple instances where Kimmel has appeared with Democratic politicians, along with donations he and his staff have made to Democratic candidates and causes. It also cites data collected by the right-wing media watchdog the Media Research Center, which found that Kimmel focused roughly 97% of his political jokes on Republican politicians.
“Kimmel is making a mockery of the American people by including major Democrat politicians as just another ‘guest’ on the show,” Suhr added. “The reality is that he has undisclosed skin in the game: he’s financially supporting the Democratic Party, hosting massive fundraising events and then bringing these candidates on his show for a free, softball interview.”
Neither the FCC, ABC nor “JKL” immediately responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The new complaint follows a series of attempts by the conservative law firm to get the FCC and its chairman, Trump acolyte Brendan Carr, to investigate the broadcast networks for their perceived bias. The group sent a letter to Carr in July urging him to investigate ABC, NBC and CBS for their alleged “persistent abuse of public airwaves” by airing “ideologically one-sided” shows.
It also accused the three networks last year of “news distortion,” a hallmark of Carr’s investigative spree.
