# Kimmel says the FCC scared his Talarico interview off TV

> A late-night host booked a Senate candidate, then moved the whole thing to YouTube rather than test the FCC.
- Title: Kimmel says the FCC scared his Talarico interview off TV
- Summary: A late-night host booked a Senate candidate, then moved the whole thing to YouTube rather than test the FCC. When a regulator starts policing guest bookings…
- Keywords: fcc, texas politics, late night tv, free speech, senate race, news, local, Kimmel, scared, Talarico, interview, The Texas Tribune
- Source: The Texas Tribune — https://feeds.texastribune.org/link/16799/17444696/jimmy-kimmel-james-talarico-fcc-interview
- Author: Kayla Guo
- Published: 2026-09-10T18:15:36+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: fcc, texas politics, late night tv, free speech, senate race, news, local
## An interview pulled from air
Jimmy Kimmel taped a sit-down with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on Thursday, then said it would not run on television. He put it on YouTube instead.
## Twenty years, no problem
Kimmel pointed out he has booked candidates for two decades, from Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz to Trump himself in 2015, without anyone objecting.

> I've been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem at all
## What changed
Kimmel said the FCC has now threatened him, his show, ABC, and the local affiliates over ordinary editorial calls. The specific offense, as he read it, was which guests he books.

> his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network ABC, our affiliates
## The rule behind the threat
Talk shows have long been exempt from equal-time rules when the segment is a bona fide news interview. In January, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told daytime and late-night hosts to offer rivals equal airtime anyway.
## Affiliates take the hit
Kimmel framed the decision as protection for ABC stations in Texas, who would absorb the regulatory mess if the segment aired. The FCC did not respond to a request for comment.

> out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas
## Not the first time
In February, Stephen Colbert said CBS pulled his Talarico interview over fear of the administration, which CBS denied. The FCC also opened an investigation into ABC's The View after Talarico appeared.
## Kimmel already got suspended once
ABC briefly benched Kimmel after the FCC leaned on the network over his joke about Charlie Kirk's assassination. The Talarico taping fell on the one year anniversary of the killing.
## A race Republicans could lose
Polling shows Talarico narrowly ahead of Ken Paxton, with a wide margin among independents. Kimmel called Paxton a piece of human silly putty; Talarico insisted he is still the underdog.

> We're not just going up against the most corrupt politician in Texas, we're going up against this entire system.
## Talarico's pitch on air
He hit Paxton's growing wealth, the Dallas Republican convention he called the Billionaire Ball, and Paxton's refusal to debate. He also invited Trump's supporters, and Trump, to join him.

> This is supposed to be the high-testosterone candidate?
## Censorship as a fundraiser
The YouTube version drew 2.2 million views in twelve hours. Talarico emailed donors with the subject line Kimmel, hoping to repeat the $2.5 million he raised after the Colbert episode.

> to make their attempted censorship backfire again
## Key takeaway

When a regulator starts policing guest bookings, the punishment lands before any rule is broken, and the interview just moves to YouTube.