Disney sues Trump over FCC censorship campaign

The only Democratic-appointed commissioner on the FCC called the lawsuit "a welcome sign for every broadcaster who has felt the weight of this overreaching government pressure in silence.”WASHINGTON (CN) — The Disney Company sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its censorship campaign calling for the Federal Communications Commission to revoke the ABC News broadcasting license and remove late-night host Jimmy Kimmel from the air.The company filed the 46-page lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking an injunction against the FCC to prevent the “existential threat” to the broadcasting licenses for ABC itself and eight ABC-owned regional stations.“Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: It disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” Disney said. “Again and again, the administration has attacked ABC’s speech — the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air. Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.”Disney opened the lawsuit with a screenshot of a Trump post on Truth Social from December 2025 warning that if network newscasts and late-night hosts are “almost 100% negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA and the Republican Party,” their broadcast licenses should be terminated.The administration’s campaign broke into public view when the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” late show was temporarily suspended last September following the comedian’s comments regarding the assassination of right-wing debater Charlie Kirk.“We hit some new lows over the weekend,” Kimmel said at the time, “with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”FCC Chairman Brendan Carr quickly criticized Kimmel’s comments on Fox News and on far-right commentator Benny Johnson’s podcast. On the latter, Carr issued an ultimatum to ABC, stating “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”Hours later, ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel’s show for five days.In the same week, the FCC issued an order requiring eight ABC-owned stations to file early applications to renew their broadcast licenses, years before the usual time for such renewals and allowing just 30 days to file applications that usually take months.“Until the day before that order issued, the commission has not called for a renewal application ahead of schedule in more than half a century,” the company said. “Nor had it ever demanded simultaneous early renewal stations from a group of stations commonly owned with a single broadcast network — much less stations with the record of public service and award-winning journalism like these stations.”The stations include affiliates in Durham, North Carolina, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia and Fresno, California.The station’s licenses were set to expire between December 2028, and August 2031, meaning for all but the Durham and Chicago stations the review comes before their current licenses have reached the halfway mark.According to Disney, the timing is meant to underscore the commission’s true goal of retaliating against the network for refusing “to bow to the administration’s demands.”The company further warns that the FCC is set to conclude its review of the stations’ renewal applications imminently, as the public comment period has since closed and public reporting indicates the FCC is expected to take action sometime before Labor Day.“Any FCC adjudication would be a charade,” Disney said. “The commission cannot lawfully grant renewal this early in the license terms — the only outcomes on the table are adverse to plaintiffs.”The company highlighted two potential worst-case scenarios, one in which the FCC intentionally prolongs the legal process with costly fees and an ever-hanging “sword of Damocles” over Disney’s head. The FCC could also deny license renewal or immediately revoke the stations’ licenses, forcing them off the air entirely.“In either scenario, the administration accomplishes its goal of eliminating a perceived media critic: either it gets plaintiffs to fall in line, or it silences them if they refuse,” the company said.Disney is also asking U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan — a Joe Biden appointee — to block the FCC from issuing a hearing designation order, where the company anticipates its renewal applications or licenses could be revoked.An FCC spokesperson defended the commission’s actions in an emailed statement, noting that “all broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest — even Disney.”“The FCC has been examining claims that Disney engaged in illegal diversity, equity and inclusion discrimination for over a year,” the spokesperson said. “Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC’s proceeding, as evidence by their ongoing campaign of disinformation as well as their decision to ask a court to stop the FCC from further pursuing matters. The FCC will continue to follow the facts and law wherever they lead.”Anna Gomez, the only Democratic-appointed commissioner on the FCC, welcomed the lawsuit in a statement.“I have long called on companies to push back on the kind of government intimidation, and I’m glad Disney has shown courage and stepped up,” Gomez said. “This should be a welcome sign for every broadcaster who has felt the weight of this overreaching government pressure in silence.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads