FCC fast-tracks ABC license review after Kimmel joke about Melania Trump

The FCC has ordered Disney to file early renewal applications for all ABC-owned TV station licenses by May 28, an unusual move given that none of those licenses are up for renewal until 2028. Officially, the action ties into Chairman Brendan Carr’s existing investigation into Disney’s DEI practices, which Carr has framed as potential discrimination violations under the Communications Act. The agency invoked its authority to call licenses in early when renewal is deemed ‘essential to the proper conduct of an investigation.’

Reporting indicates the timing is not coincidental. NBC News cited a source saying the probe was fast-tracked after Jimmy Kimmel joked that Melania Trump looked like an ‘expectant widow,’ a remark that prompted both Trumps to publicly demand his firing. The DEI investigation existed beforehand, but its acceleration aligns with the personal grievance rather than any new regulatory finding.

Revoking a broadcast license is procedurally near-impossible, so the practical outcome is less about license loss and more about regulatory pressure as a coercive tool. The episode marks an escalation in using FCC machinery to respond to politically unfavorable speech on licensed broadcasters, with chilling implications for editorial decisions at network affiliates.