She may not be a late night television host, but she’s played one on TV.
As such, Jean Smart has an opinion about Jimmy Kimmel getting indefinitely suspended on Wednesday due to the ABC host’s comments about Charlie Kirk on Monday night.
“I am horrified at the cancellation of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.’ What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech,” the Emmy-winning “Hacks” actress shared on Instagram. “People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda.”
“Though I didn’t agree at ALL with Charlie Kirk; his shooting death sickened me; and should have sickened any decent human being,” Smart added. “What is happening to our country?”
The actress has famously played stand-up comedian Deborah Vance across four seasons on HBO Max’s “Hacks,” opposite fellow Emmy winner Hannah Einbinder. The series has been renewed for a fifth and (perhaps) final installment.
Meanwhile, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has not been canceled. However, ABC and Disney have yet to announce plans for the show going forward and Nexstar intends to air a Charlie Kirk special on its 200 owned or partner stations in the timeslot on Friday.
Kimmel came under fire this week for the following comments: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” The monologue notably occurred after authorities in Utah provided additional information about accused shooter Tyler Robinson that suggested the opposite.
Still, his fellow comedians like Mike Birbiglia, Wanda Sykes, Ben Stiller, Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt have all spoken out about the FCC’s move against Kimmel, warning of future free speech implications.
