Joe Rogan has had enough of the right celebrating Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.
“I definitely don’t think that the government should be involved ever in dictating what a comedian can or cannot say in a monologue,” Rogan said during an episode of his influential podcast that was posted on Tuesday.
Rogan’s statement mirrored what Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican and Trump ally, said last week: Conservatives will come to regret setting a precedent where the federal government can bully media companies into censorship.
“The problem is the companies, if they’re being pressured by the government, so if that’s real and if people on the right are like, ‘Yeah, go get ’em.’ Oh my God, you are crazy,” Rogan said. “You are crazy for supporting this because this will be used on you.”
Rogan endorsed Trump on the eve of the 2024 election, welcoming the then-former president on his show despite repeatedly saying he would never do so. While Rogan has emphasized he is “not a Republican,” he has often expressed similar views to the GOP base, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rogan’s podcast appeared to have been recorded before Disney announced on Monday that Kimmel and his late-night show would return Tuesday evening. Last week, ABC said it was suspending “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the host’s comments on the killing of Charlie Kirk.
A comedian himself, Rogan said part of Kimmel’s final monologue before his suspension was hilarious, even if the framing around the shooting suspect’s ideology was inaccurate. “We hit 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,” Kimmel said during the September 15 show, before cutting to a clip of Trump discussing the construction of the new ballroom at the White House after a reporter asked him about Kirk.
“I think what he was trying to do was just set up a joke. He was trying to knock on the MAGA people, but also set up a joke, which was good,” Rogan said. ‘It was very funny.”
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Before ABC’s suspension, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting Company, which combined own roughly 25% of all local ABC stations, announced that they would not air Kimmel’s show on their stations. Both groups have said that they will continue not to air Kimmel’s show.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, had pressured local broadcasters to take action after Kimmel’s comments angered some conservatives. In his comments, Carr threatened broadcasters’ licenses, which the FCC holds jurisdiction over, and which are the lifeblood of local stations. While ABC does not have a license itself, Disney does own a small number of stations in some of the nation’s biggest markets.
Trump, who has yet to comment on Kimmel’s return, was among those who celebrated ABC’s suspension. The president also called for NBC to fire its two late-night hosts.
“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” Trump wrote on Truth Social while on a state visit to the United Kingdom. “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! “
Rogan said it was odd that the President of the United States would comment on such news.
“How do you have time while you’re running the world to be tweeting that you don’t like talk show hosts?” he said. “That is so crazy, crazy.”
Correction: September 23 — This story has been updated to correct a quote attributed to Rogan about Kimmel’s monologue. He said, “I think what he was trying to do was just set up a joke. He was trying to knock on the MAGA people, but also set up a joke, which was good. It was very funny.”
