Jimmy Kimmel Fired From ABC

Mikayla Leskey | Arts & Entertainment

In case you didn’t know, TV Show host Jimmy Kimmel was recently suspended from ABC, his late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! being yanked with him due to his comments about the recent murder of Charlie Kirk and President Donald Trump. I’m not here to talk about politics, but I am here to ask; what happened to freedom of speech? This country’s first amendment?

Kimmel was using his platform, a powerful one, with over 1 million average viewers, to spread a message to us. The hypocrisy of Republicans and Donald Trump. Yet in a segment that was only minutes long was enough to get him suspended from his over 20-year-old show. I always hear people go on and on about how nobody is using their platform to change the world or spread news about what’s going on. Everybody is always waiting for someone else to do it, not wanting to do it themselves.

Celebrities and Comedians alike have come out on different social media platforms defending Kimmel. They’re all talking about the censorship concerning his cancellation and in general. As well,the exact term of freedom of speech. Does it include comedians and TV stars? Or is it something just for the people, to be able to talk about anything they want.

When I’m writing this, I’m thrown back to middle school, when one of my teachers went on about Freedom of Speech and told us how lucky we are that we have it because other countries can’t talk about their people of power in this way. That was less than 10 years ago, yet it still resonates today.

They’ve already started banning books, now it’s cancelling TV Show hosts. What’s next? Defunding news outlets? Until only biased ones are left? If that’s the case, who can we trust to tell us what’s really going on in our country? People who conform to Trump’s wants to keep their brands alive? Or people who do anything to remind us about free speech? People who remind us that we, the people, also have a voice. They use theirs until we can figure out our own.

Jimmy Kimmel shouldn’t have been cancelled for speaking his mind. Nor should others following his route. I don’t want to live in a country where I’m constantly watching what I say or how I say it. I’m trying to pursue writing as a career, and I certainly refuse to censor myself. I didn’t in High School, and I simply won’t allow myself to do that now. The question is, will you?