# FCC chair calls Talarico's Kimmel sit-down a hoax

> Brendan Carr says a Texas Senate candidate staged an interview fight for clicks, after ABC quietly moved it to YouTube.
- Title: FCC chair calls Talarico's Kimmel sit-down a hoax · Variety
- Summary: Brendan Carr says a Texas Senate candidate staged an interview fight for clicks, after ABC quietly moved it to YouTube. ABC pushed a late-night interview to…
- Keywords: fcc, media politics, jimmy kimmel, broadcast regulation, 2026 senate, entertainment, culture, chair, calls, Talarico's, Kimmel, sit-down
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/fcc-chairman-talarico-hoax-jimmy-kimmel-youtube-1236860262
- Author: Todd Spangler
- Published: 2026-09-13T04:37:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: fcc, media politics, jimmy kimmel, broadcast regulation, 2026 senate, entertainment, culture
## A chairman picks a fight
Brendan Carr, the Trump-aligned Republican who chairs the FCC, went after Texas Democrat James Talarico over a Jimmy Kimmel interview.
## The charge is a hoax
Carr said Talarico manufactured the whole episode to pull in attention and campaign money, not because any real regulatory threat existed.

> just running the same hoax he did a few months ago on Colbert
## ABC chose YouTube instead
The network did not air the Kimmel interview on broadcast TV. It put the segment on YouTube, sidestepping a possible collision with the FCC.
## He says it is a rerun
Carr framed the Kimmel booking as a repeat of a stunt Talarico ran on Colbert a few months earlier, same script, same payoff.
## Clicks and donations
The accusation is about incentives. Carr claims the candidate profits from the appearance of censorship whether or not the FCC ever acts.

> for the purpose of getting clicks and donations
## Betting on confusion
Carr's sharpest line says voters do not know what the statute actually allows, and that the campaign is counting on it.

> he's banking on people not understanding the statute or operating as partisan lemmings
## Key takeaway

ABC pushed a late-night interview to YouTube rather than risk a broadcast fight with the FCC, and the FCC chairman says that fear is manufactured.