Whoopi Goldberg and The View address Jimmy Kimmel suspension
ABC daytime panel speaks out as Kimmel’s late-night pause prompts debate over free speech and government pressure
The View addressed Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension on Monday, nearly a week after Jimmy Kimmel Live! was indefinitely pulled from the air. The moment marked the first public comments from the ABC talk show on the hiatus that followed the late-night program’s monologue about Charlie Kirk’s death and President Trump’s reaction to it.
“Did y’all really think we weren’t going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel?” Whoopi Goldberg asked viewers, opening the discussion with a line that underscored the co-hosts’ stance after a period of silence. “I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons?” the EGOT winner added, signaling that the panel would not be silenced by events surrounding Kimmel’s show. “No one silences us.”
The discussion came after Goldberg explained that she and her co-hosts had taken a breath to gauge whether Kimmel would speak out regarding the controversy that led to the pause. Last Wednesday, the show was put on pause following Kimmel’s monologue about Charlie Kirk’s death and the subsequent reactions from the former president. Nexstar Media, which owns a number of local stations, expressed a “strong objection” to the remarks, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr threatened to launch an official probe. Kimmel has not issued a public statement, and he was photographed smirking at his lawyer’s office in the days following the suspension.
Goldberg asserted that government pressure to silence a show is unacceptable, saying, “You can not like [the] show and it can go off the air. Someone can say something they shouldn’t and get taken off the air. But the government cannot apply pressure to force someone to be silenced.” Ana Navarro, who joined the conversation as a guest co-host, echoed the concern: “I don’t understand how in this country, where the First Amendment was made to guarantee freedom of the press and freedom of speech, how the government itself is using its weight and power to bully and scare people into silence. This is what dictators and authoritarians do.” Navarro added that it does not matter which side of the aisle someone sits on; the impulse to suppress speech is dangerous regardless of ideology.
Alyssa Farrah Griffin, another participant in the discussion, reinforced the emphasis on the First Amendment, saying, “The First Amendment is the first for a reason.” The co-hosts reflected on their long-running commitment to free expression, noting that their program has frequently debated the boundaries of what is deemed offensive and who gets to define it. Goldberg summed up their stance by reiterating, “We fight for everybody’s right to have freedom of speech.”
The group also touched on the broader media conversation about Kimmel’s suspension. Page Six reported that the women hosting The View — which, like Kimmel’s show, airs on ABC — had not been told to avoid addressing the issue and would not be silenced. The broader entertainment world has joined the discussion, with Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon among those who spoke out in defense of Kimmel since the news broke. Colbert’s comment came in the context of a broader media landscape that has seen several late-night franchises navigate sudden suspensions and shifting reviews. Alyssa Farrah Griffin again emphasized the importance of the First Amendment as a check on power.
Goldberg closed the segment by reiterating the group’s stance on free speech and the duty to engage with difficult topics, even when the subjects involve powerful institutions or individuals. The View’s panel underscored that their platform exists to interrogate power and to defend the principle that government actions should not dictate what can be said on the air. The conversation on Monday reflected a broader moment in which entertainment figures and talk-show hosts weigh in on the balance between accountability, sensational commentary, and constitutional rights.
The coverage of Kimmel’s suspension has continued to unfold in other corners of the media ecosystem. Colbert, Meyers and Fallon joined the chorus of voices supporting Kimmel, while Howard Stern criticized Disney for the decision and urged listeners to reconsider their own media consumption. Stern argued that government interference in media runs counter to the core principles of a free press and a free country.
