Staff Reports
Bill Maher — a man who has spent decades flinging barbs at conservatives — did something very few on the left will do: he publicly told the truth about Jimmy Kimmel’s overreach while defending the comedian’s right to speak. Maher said he didn’t think Kimmel’s line about Charlie Kirk’s killer being a MAGA supporter was “exactly right,” but made clear Kimmel should not be stripped of his career for a heated joke.
What followed was the predictable corporate panic: ABC yanked Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air almost immediately, bowing to a mix of media outrage and pressure from regulators and affiliates. Networks are reflexively terrified of being accused of harboring “bad optics,” and ABC’s decision proves once again that big media would rather censor than defend free expression.
Maher didn’t spare the network, reminding viewers that he was canned by ABC back in 2001 and mocking the company for what he called a culture of caving. That kind of blunt, rare honesty from a mainstream liberal should be a wake-up call: even some on the left see the hypocrisy of canceling people for imperfect speech while celebrating their own tribe’s rhetorical excesses.
Let’s be clear about the ugly backdrop: Charlie Kirk was gunned down while speaking at a campus event, and authorities have charged a suspect in the killing — a tragic, senseless act that deserves condemnation from every side. Maher called the suspect mentally disturbed and rejected the rush to assign him to a political tribe, which undercuts the left’s reflex to weaponize tragedy for partisan gain.
Conservatives should welcome others, even on the left, who refuse to turn pain into political ammunition. Maher went further, defending Kirk’s record of engaging with opponents and condemning those who mocked the assassination, a rare moment of decency that exposes the left’s fractured moral compass. If Democrats want credibility on civility, they should stop issuing press releases and start speaking plainly like Maher did on his show.
This episode is a reminder that free speech matters more than belonging to the right in the court of public opinion. We can criticize Kimmel for sloppy judgment without cheering for corporate censorship, and we can demand accountability for the violent nihilists who attack our public square. Americans who love liberty should be louder now — defend speech, defend victims, and stop letting powerful institutions decide who gets a platform based on who screams the loudest.
