Joe Rogan has issued a free speech warning to MAGA over Jimmy Kimmel‘s TV suspension.
Speaking on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, the comedian reacted to the ongoing controversy surrounding Kimmel, who was suspended from Jimmy Kimmel Live! over comments he made about the Make America Great Again movement’s response to the death of Charlie Kirk.
Rogan, who has been influential in American politics because of his large listener base—which exceeds 20.2 million subscribers on YouTube alone—said that if Kimmel could be canceled, right-wing figures could be too.
Why It Matters
Kimmel returned to air on Tuesday after a weeklong suspension from ABC over a monologue he made in the wake of Kirk’s killing. “The MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
The comedian’s suspension sparked a debate about the line between free speech and hate speech. While some right-wing figures celebrated Kimmel’s removal, others questioned whether the right was embracing cancel culture, something Kirk spoke out against.
Joe Rogan stands for a benediction after President Donald Trump was sworn in during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.© Saul Loeb/Pool photo via AP, File
What To Know
Speaking with guest Andrew Santino on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast, Rogan said: “I definitely don’t think that the government should be involved ever in dictating what a comedian can and cannot say in a monologue. That’s f*****g crazy.”
He added that people on the right who celebrated companies such as ABC “being pressured by the government” were “crazy” for doing so.
You’re crazy for supporting this because this will be used on you,” Rogan said. “You don’t think that that the f*****g globalist lizard people who run the world are sitting here going: ‘Great. What do we got? Three years. We’ll wait this out. We’ll wait this out. Yeah, let ’em say the government should be involved in censoring people’s speech.’”
What People Are Saying
Late-night host Seth Meyers said on his NBC show on Monday: “It is possible to stand up to this kind of bullying and censorship. For example, Trump tried to sue The New York Times, and that suit has already been thrown out. And minutes before we started taping, we got word that our friend Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air tomorrow.”
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on X: “For everyone who spoke up and said Trump’s censorship of Kimmel is wrong, your voice mattered.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99 percent positive Democrat GARBAGE.”
