James Talaricowas interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel, but the conversation won’t air on television.
Kimmel said he would not be airing the interview with the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate during his monologue on Sept. 9. Kimmel pointed out that he has interviewed political candidates throughout his more than two decades in late-night television, including Donald Trump during his 2015 presidential campaign.
At the time, Kimmel said, Trump appeared to have no issue with talk show hosts interviewing candidates and later returned for another interview, Kimmel said.
"For some reason, and I can't seem to figure out what that reason is, something has changed now that he's president," Kimmel joked. "His FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network,
ABC, our local stations —based on simple, traditional editorial decisions guest bookings it would seem they dont like."
Kimmel then said in consideration for stations, including in Texas, the interview will not air on television.
"So if you want to learn about a candidate forthe senate tomorrow you will have to go to the Jimmy Kimmel LIve youtuibe channel," Kimmel said.
“Out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas,” Kimmel said, the Talarico interview will not air on television.
Instead, the full interview will be posted on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube channel.
“So if you want to learn about a candidate for the Senate tomorrow,” Kimmel said, viewers will have to watch the interview on YouTube.
Kimmel's interview change comes after Disney and ABC sued the FCC in August, alleging an unconstitutional "retaliatory campaign" against the network. The suit cited an FCC order for ABC to file license renewals for its TV stations years ahead of schedule, USA TODAY reported.
The controversy also comes nearly a year after ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel in September 2025 over comments he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Before the suspension, FCC chair Brendan Carr threatened ABC to take action against Kimmel, sparking outcry and accusations of government censorship. ABC brought Kimmel back on the air after less than a week.
USA Today contributed to this story.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: James Talarico's Jimmy Kimmel interview won't air on ABC. Here's why
