Jimmy Kimmel poked fun at the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday evening after it was revealed that the agency ceased operating their complaint phone line amid the government shutdown.
The comedian called the update a “silver lining to the shutdown” during Wednesday’s monologue for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and pondered what the news meant for his jokes moving forward.
“According to their official website, during the shutdown, our friends at the FCC will cease their response to consumer complaint and inquiry phone lines,” Kimmel explained at the top of the show. “I’m not a lawyer, but I think this means we can now say whatever we want on TV. I mean, there’s nobody that takes the complaint.”
As a way to test this potential freedom, Kimmel dared his longtime sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, to say “the dirtiest and most inappropriate thing” he could say — all while dressed as a pigeon.
While Rodriguez did appear to spew off some NSFW phrases, viewers at home were not clued in to what was said, as the show ultimately censored the sidekick. (Though, it does seem like Rodriguez said something along the lines of, “F–k my a–hole, motherf—er.”)
Later on in the monologue, Kimmel criticized President Donald Trump’s response to the government shutdown, including his repeated sharing of racist A.I. videos of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.
“That video was posted by the President of the United States,” Kimmel added. “A Black man with a sombrero with mariachi. That’s how out of it this guy is. He can’t even keep his racism straight.”
This isn’t the first time Kimmel has taunted the FCC or President Trump this week. Kimmel, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration, found himself briefly suspended after a controversy tied to his remarks about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer.
His suspension came amid condemnation from both FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Trump, with many accusing the administration of attacking free speech in the process.
Kimmel returned to the air on Sept. 23 after a multi-day suspension — though, his show was preempted by Nexstar and Sinclair until this past Friday.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.
