'No One Silences Us': Whoopi Goldberg And The View Break Silence On Jimmy Kimmel's Suspension — Watch Video
Following Jimmy Kimmel's Wednesday suspension, all eyes were on ABC's The View the following morning. But the hot topic went unmentioned on Thursday's broadcast — and again on Friday's episode, which tapes a day in advance.
On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr suggested it would be "worthwhile" for the FCC to investigate The View.
Come Monday, Whoopi Goldberg addressed the elephant in the room.
"Did you all really think we weren't going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel? I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons? No one silences us," Goldberg declared.
"When the news broke last week about Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, we took a breath to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first. We did the same thing with Stephen Colbert," she explained. "To be clear, you can not like a 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 — and you may be surprised to see who agrees with us at this table, because it blew us away."
That was followed by soundbites from Republican senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, both of whom suggested that Carr's commentary is inappropriate. The moderator also cut to a clip of President Donald Trump, suggesting that it is up to Carr to decide which network licenses are revoked.
"It's not up to Brendan Carr," Goldberg asserted. "I don't understand how you are the man in charge of the nation, and you still don't understand how the First Amendment works."
Ana Navarro interjected: "I don't understand how in this country, where the First Amendment was made to the Constitution 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."
Added Alyssa Farrah Griffin: "The First Amendment is the first for a reason, because you need to be able to hold those in power accountable." Watch their exchange below.
Kimmel's late-night brethren — including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart and John Oliver — all have spoken out in support of their fellow comedian. And The View's remarks came just minutes after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published an open letter protesting Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s recent indefinite preemption. Among the note's 400 signatories are actors affiliated with ABC, Disney+ and/or Hulu series or movies, including Grey's Anatomy's Jason George; Only Murders in the Building's Martin Short, Meryl Streep and Selena Gomez; The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal; Agatha All Along's Kathryn Hahn; and The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Update (Monday, Sept. 22 at 3:30 pm ET): The Walt Disney Company has lifted Kimmel's suspension. New episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! resume Tuesday on ABC.