Jimmy Kimmel is changing how one upcoming political interview will be distributed, saying concerns involving the Federal Communications Commission prompted the decision.
During the Wednesday, September 9, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel, 58, announced that his interview with James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas, will not air on ABC. Instead, the full interview will be posted on the show’s YouTube channel.
“I’ll be interviewing James Talarico tomorrow night under unusual circumstances,” Kimmel told viewers during his monologue.
Kimmel said that throughout the more than 20-year history of his late-night show, he has interviewed political candidates from both parties without issue. He referenced past guests including Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
Kimmel also noted that Trump appeared on his show while running for president in 2015 and returned before securing the Republican nomination in 2016.
“But for some reason … something has changed,” Kimmel said.
The host then alleged that the FCC, under the Trump administration, had applied pressure to him, his program, ABC and local affiliates over editorial decisions and guest bookings.
“Now that he’s president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations,” Kimmel claimed.
Kimmel said the decision to move the Talarico interview online was made in consideration of ABC affiliates in Texas, which he said could otherwise be placed in a difficult position.
“My interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television,” he explained. “It will be posted on YouTube instead.”
He added that viewers who want to see the Senate candidate interview will be able to watch it in full on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube channel.
The latest comments come after Kimmel’s show faced controversy in September 2025, when Disney temporarily suspended the program following criticism over remarks he made about the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. The article provided says that FCC chairman Brendan Carr was among those who publicly pressured the network at the time.
Kimmel also referenced Carr during his Tuesday, September 8, monologue while celebrating the show’s 4,000th episode.
“There are even those who used the regulatory might of the FCC to unconstitutionally try to make sure we didn’t last this long,” Kimmel joked before adding that the show was “still here.”
The FCC had not provided a response in the material supplied.
For now, Kimmel’s planned interview with Talarico marks a notable shift for the program, with a political conversation that would traditionally air on ABC moving instead to an online platform.
