00:00Well, we are just a few hours away from the return of Jimmy Kimmel.
00:04The question is, is it the old Jimmy, is it the OG Jimmy Kimmel?
00:08Or is it a neutered Jimmy Kimmel?
00:10Or a neutered one.
00:11So the two questions that people are asking is, one, does he apologize?
00:16Does he apologize for the comment about the right looking for any which way to move it?
00:23The alleged killer.
00:24The assassination of Charlie Kirk away from them with this alleged killer.
00:29Two, and Charles and I have been arguing about this all morning, and I think this is the bigger issue,
00:35is going forward, does Jimmy Kimmel pull back?
00:39Because when you look at ABC's statement that says they're bringing him back tonight,
00:44it said, after thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.
00:49I don't know how you interpret that.
00:50So what's the bigger topic here?
00:53What his show and what his behavior is going to be like long term?
00:58Or this apology?
00:59Both speak to censorship.
01:01Which is more censorship?
01:02Because if he doesn't apologize, by the way, there are 80 something, I think 81 stations that are still not going to air Jimmy Kimmel tonight.
01:12Because, and those are the Sinclair and Nexstar owned stations, and they're saying, you know, there's a report that says that they want to know that he's going to apologize.
01:21And they want to know, they want assurances that he is going to be a good boy, for lack of a better term.
01:27But I think the good boy part is the big part.
01:29And look, when they say we had thoughtful conversations with him, that's the woodshed folks.
01:35Did those thoughtful conversations include talks about the FCC?
01:40Because if it did, then it's all about censorship.
01:42What they're going to say, look, what I can hear Bob Iger, who's the monkey monkey there, I can hear Bob Iger saying, look, we are in a business, and the business is broadcasting.
01:54And when you have 80-plus stations that are boycotting you, you don't have a sustainable business.
02:02So let's figure out a way going forward where you can tell jokes about the president.
02:09Maybe, for example, today where the teleprompter didn't work at the UN, and he made comments about it.
02:15And you can tell jokes about it versus arguing policy.
02:19And, again, I'm making this up, but I can hear that conversation in my mind.
02:26And, yeah, I mean, look, it is a business they're running.
02:28But also, he also knows, Bob Iger knows they're running a business that took a major hit over the last week with people boycotting, right?
02:36With people dropping their subscriptions to Hulu, to Disney+.
02:40Disney+.
02:40And so that's something else he's got to deal with.
02:43And the entertainment business now is all about mergers, that it's all about Pac-Man, where one company eats another.
02:50And Disney is in that business.
02:53And, you know, they have now heard from the chairman of the FCC.
02:58And so, however the head of Disney frames it, that's got to be huge.
03:05You're still kind of dealing with censorship.
03:07That's right.
03:07You're going to do it the easy way or the hard way?
03:09Easy way or hard way.
03:10What do you think, Mike?
03:10Easy way or hard way?
03:11I think today is going to be a massive audience, right?
03:15Given that we're going to have like a third of the country that can't see it if they wanted to.
03:18But I've got to imagine so many people are going to be watching this tonight, too.
03:22Claudio from Texas.
03:23I'm Pat Kimmel's back.
03:24I don't think he needs to apologize.
03:26Imagine being so thin-skinned you had to sick the FCC on a comedian because you can't take a joke.
03:30Let's be crystal clear, too.
03:32Bringing Jimmy back wasn't Disney's choice.
03:33The American people collectively stood up for our rights and demanded it.
03:37That's why it matters.
03:38Trump just lost this culture war.
03:40But how's he coming back?
03:41That's the question.
03:42You said you demanded it.
03:43You got him back.
03:43Are you getting the Jimmy Kimmel you had before or a new one?
03:48I don't think he's going to apologize.
03:49And I think he's going to stand up for free speech as, you know, Americans kind of supported that.
03:55Respectfully disagree.
03:56We will see.
03:57Before Jimmy Kimmel actually gets on stage to shoot his show tonight for the big return, I think he has said a lot with a very simple post on social media.
04:06This literally just came up.
04:08This came up.
04:08After we talked about it before, this just came up.
04:10And I think that this maybe tips his hat a little bit as to what he's going to do.
04:16Not sure I agree with that.
04:18So here's what he did.
04:19He put up this post.
04:20A photo with his good friend, the late Norman Lear.
04:23It said, missing this guy today.
04:26Hmm.
04:27Do you want to go ahead and decipher or do you want me to go first?
04:29Well, I think we should first explain the significance of it.
04:33Of Norman Lear.
04:33Norman Lear, back in the late 60s, started All in the Family.
04:38Early 70s.
04:38I guess it was the early 70s.
04:40Yeah.
04:40All in the Family was a seminal, groundbreaking show where he tackled things nobody did on television.
04:49He tackled racial issues, but real racial issues.
04:53Just everything in this show.
04:55And went on to do more and more and more of it.
04:58And did it in almost all of his shows.
05:01The Jefferson.
05:02The Jefferson.
05:02Certainly did it.
05:03Good Times did it.
05:05Maud, I guess.
05:06No, Maud, he had an abortion episode.
05:08That's right.
05:08He had an abortion in Maud.
05:09So he was, this guy was absolute center left.
05:16But was all about free speech.
05:18All about free speech.
05:19And the networks caved to Norman Lear.
05:23That CBS, when they did All in the Family, it was unheard of on CBS.
05:28To do a show like that.
05:30Norman Lear convinced CBS to push ahead.
05:33And he did it.
05:35And now we're seeing the exact opposite.
05:38And so Jimmy putting that post up.
05:40Oh, huge.
05:40Hours before his show, to me, says that he's not going to apologize and that he is going
05:47to be, try to be, a hero for free speech.
05:51And so here's what I think.
05:52I see that take, and maybe you're right.
05:55But the other way of looking at it is that he is saying, I wish we had a world like the
06:02world of Norman Lear.
06:03What would Norman Lear be?
06:03Because I missed.
06:04Oh, okay.
06:05Because he said, missed.
06:06No way.
06:08Norman Lear never would have apologized.
06:10He never would have taken this.
06:11And I think Jimmy Kimmel is saying, I wish this guy was still here because he's my mentor
06:15and my hero.
06:16And I could follow him, but I'm going to have to do this on my own now.
06:18If he caves, it's a betrayal of Norman Lear.
06:21So maybe, to Harvey's point, maybe that's what he's saying is, I missed.
06:26When this guy was around, I'm Norman Lear.
06:28That's how it was.
06:29Now that he's invoked Norman Lear, it makes it all the more disappointing to his fans and
06:34the people that are relying on Jimmy Kimmel not to apologize if he does.
06:38Jimmy Kimmel is in an impossible situation here because he's got 80 plus stations that
06:44are boycotting him that he needs back.
06:47Because here's the deal.
06:48Now, if those stations stay away, that show's going to go away because you can't sustain
06:54it economically.
06:55Forget about the FCC.
06:56At a point, Disney's going to cut the cord because they can't afford to do it.
07:01So he's in this no-win situation right now in terms of business.
07:05Doesn't he win by forcing Disney's hand?
07:07If Disney cancels, Jimmy Kimmel, I looked it up, is worth $60 million.
07:10What's the win?
07:11The win is that you become...
07:12He's got 100 plus people that rely on him and he cares about that.
07:17I understand that.
07:18And that is unfortunate, really unfortunate.
07:20But he cares about it.
07:21But he cannot sell out his principles for that.
07:24He just can't.
07:25So the question is, do you sell out?
07:28What is the interpretation of selling out?
07:30Do you sell out if you worked in this kind of a lane and maybe you move here or is selling
07:36out where you have to do it here?
07:37I mean...
07:38Yeah.
07:38No, it's a good question.
07:39I don't know the answer to that either.
07:40I don't know the answer.
07:41But when ABC said we had a thoughtful conversation with Jimmy, they pressured him.
07:47Yes.
07:47I'm Lubiton Kendall from St. Louis.
07:49I'm going to be speaking on the Jimmy Kimmel situation.
07:52And I really stand with Jimmy Kimmel.
07:53I feel like he should be able to practice freedom of speech without have to worry about
07:58being reprimanded.
07:59And I feel like him personally, Norman Lear, kind of like stands that I'm going to like
08:03say how I feel and I'm not going to apologize for it.
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