Conservative outrage against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel reached a fever pitch after Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman, appeared on a podcast and hinted that the regulatory body might use its powers against ABC, the network airing Kimmel’s show.
However, this dramatic escalation was not sudden. The backlash had been brewing online for over 24 hours, evolving from a quiet frustration into a resounding outcry. An analysis of countless social media posts and mentions across radio, television, and podcasts by The New York Times reveals how social media users, influential figures, and right-wing news outlets systematically amplified Kimmel’s monologue.
The initial reaction on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning was subdued. A user, tasked with monitoring late-night shows for liberal bias, posted a clip of the monologue. Throughout the day, conservative influencers and radio hosts gradually picked up on it, and by evening, Fox News hosts were discussing the segment.
Hours before Carr’s podcast appearance on Wednesday, Elon Musk, X’s owner and most-followed user, publicly denounced Kimmel’s jokes as “disgusting.”
This accelerating furor illustrates a crucial aspect of online outrage: it rarely arises spontaneously. Instead, it’s often meticulously cultivated by a select group of prominent voices who strategically redirect their audience’s attention.
Anthony Kelly, from University College Dublin’s Centre for Digital Policy, highlights that “Outrage is fomented by influential figures in both media and politics, for whom outrage is a communication strategy.” He adds that platforms themselves, through their algorithms, are increasingly driving this spread of outrage, making it a less organic phenomenon.
Critics argued that Kimmel’s monologue contained inaccuracies. He had quipped that “the MAGA gang was desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.” Yet, charging documents indicated the accused shooter had expressed, “I had enough of his hatred” concerning Kirk.
Ultimately, Kimmel’s remarks played a role in ABC’s decision to pull his show indefinitely.
For nearly 24 hours after Kimmel’s show aired, online and broadcast criticism remained muted. Data from Tweet Binder, an analytics company, and Critical Mention, a media monitoring firm, confirmed this initial calm.
However, conservative media began publishing critical articles early Tuesday morning. Breitbart, a prominent right-wing news site, ran an article at 6:40 a.m. Eastern time, focusing mostly on Kimmel’s jokes about former President Trump’s grief, with only a brief mention of the shooter controversy. The image above shows an article from Breitbart with a headline focused on Kimmel’s commentary about Trump’s mourning of Charlie Kirk.
One of the earliest X posts featuring a clip from Kimmel’s monologue came from Alex Christy, a staff writer for NewsBusters. This conservative publication aims to “expose and neutralize liberal media bias” in mainstream media.
Christy’s post, published at 9:02 a.m. on Tuesday, slowly gained traction over several days, spreading across social media and video platforms. It eventually garnered over 15 million views on X, boosted by influential users like Elon Musk. The image above displays an X post from Alex Christy.
NewsBusters operates under the Media Research Center (M.R.C.), a media watchdog nonprofit founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III, a conservative media critic. Bozell, recently nominated by Donald Trump as the next ambassador to South Africa, has a history of campaigning against mainstream media, advocating for show cancellations or boycotts.
“We’re going to look for media bias anywhere and everywhere we need to go look,” stated David Bozell, M.R.C.’s president, in an interview, explicitly including “late night” in their scope.
Following a few scattered mentions on Tuesday radio programs, Fox News addressed Kimmel’s comments on “The Five,” its prime-time round-table show.
“Isn’t it easier for them to pull the plug on someone like Jimmy Kimmel, given the political and media vibe that we are in right now?” host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery questioned. Katie Pavlich, another host, responded, “It’s certainly easy to give them an opportunity to walk it back or to try and clarify exactly what he meant.”
Yet, the online atmosphere was already shifting dramatically.
Auron MacIntyre, a host for The Blaze, a right-wing media company, posted on X late Tuesday night, accusing Kimmel of promoting a “conspiracy theory” about the shooter’s political affiliations. He concluded his post with, “He must lose his job, this is deeply evil.” This post amassed over half a million views. The image displays Auron MacIntyre’s X post, calling for Kimmel’s removal.
The next morning, Elon Musk echoed, “Jimmy Kimmel is disgusting.”
On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Carr appeared on “The Benny Show,” a podcast and livestream hosted by conservative activist Benny Johnson. Carr seemingly capitalized on the burgeoning online outrage, suggesting the FCC could intervene against ABC if the network failed to address Kimmel’s actions.
These comments thrust the online dispute into the mainstream, triggering a fresh wave of outrage directed at both Kimmel and the FCC’s potential regulatory interference.
Kate Klonick, an associate professor at St. John’s University School of Law and an expert on misinformation, explained the impact: “What makes a huge difference here is that you now have people in power, people that are highly visible and powerful, that can make actual change happen, who will pick up things that maybe 5 percent or 10 percent of the population is listening to.”
Subsequently, calls for Kimmel’s dismissal surged online, jumping from fewer than a dozen accounts to hundreds of posts per hour on X, according to Tweet Binder data.
After ABC announced the pulling of Kimmel’s show, Johnson, the podcaster who interviewed the FCC chairman, proudly claimed responsibility for the outcome.
“Mean tweets are great,” he wrote on X. “But they can be ignored. What can’t be ignored are your paying customers organizing against you and FCC investigations. That is exactly what we did.”