‘New and dangerous level’: Even Obama sees that MAGA has weaponized cancel culture to an extreme

Former President Barack Obama has weighed in on the news that Jimmy Kimmel’s show has been pulled from ABC’s schedule indefinitely, calling out what he sees as a new and dangerous level of government coercion. In a post on X, Obama stated that the current administration has taken cancel culture to an extreme by threatening media companies with regulatory action if they don’t muzzle or fire reporters and commentators they dislike.

According to Obama, this is exactly the kind of government pressure that the First Amendment was created to stop. He went on to urge media companies to stand up to the threats rather than just giving in. This statement comes after ABC announced that Kimmel’s late-night show would be off the air for an unknown amount of time, a decision that followed threats from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

Obama said, “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like… This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”

Cancel culture is a weapon again, but this time in MAGA’s favor

On a podcast, Carr condemned a remark that Kimmel made during a recent monologue. Kimmel had said, “We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.” The FCC Chairman then threatened the network, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Obama has a history with Kimmel, having appeared on his show during his presidency. He also joined Kimmel and then-President Joe Biden at a Q&A and campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles last year. The move to pull Kimmel’s show has drawn a strong reaction from many, with some pointing out the irony of a political group that has long complained about “cancel culture” now seemingly using government power to silence a critic.

This whole situation is a messy one, and it’s something that feels like it could set a pretty scary precedent for the future of media. For years, people have debated what “cancel culture” means and who is affected by it. Many people on the right have argued that it’s a tool of the left to shut down free speech and punish people for their opinions.

Now, with a government official directly threatening a network to “take action” on a commentator, the conversation has shifted dramatically. This isn’t about public pressure or consumer boycotts; it’s about a government body using its regulatory power to force a company to make a personnel change. This is what Obama was talking about when he mentioned the First Amendment, and it’s a pretty big deal.