Whoopi Goldberg and her co-hosts on “The View” broke their silence Monday on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, blasting ABC’s decision and warning that government pressure cannot dictate who stays on the air.
“Did y’all really think we weren’t going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel? I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons?” Goldberg told the audience at the start of the Monday broadcast.
“No one silences us.”
She said the panel waited to see if Kimmel would address the controversy first, but added, “The government cannot apply pressure to force someone to be silenced.”
Ana Navarro said she could not fathom how the First Amendment was being undermined and “how the government itself is using its weight and power to bully and scare people into silence.”
“The First Amendment is the first for a reason because you need to be able to hold those in power accountable,” fellow “View” talking head Alyssa Farah Griffin said.
Goldberg said that she and her co-hosts “fight for everybody’s right to have freedom of speech because it means my speech is free, it means your speech is free.”
Their remarks followed days of speculation that ABC had ordered the daytime hosts to remain quiet. Fans noted they avoided the topic on two episodes after Kimmel’s suspension was announced Sept. 18.
That silence deepened after FCC chairman Brendan Carr, speaking on a radio show, floated the idea that “The View” itself should be reviewed to determine if it qualified as a “bona fide news program” exempt from equal-opportunity rules.
“I think it’s worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether ‘The View’ and some of the programs that you have still qualify,” Carr said.
Other television personalities condemned the suspension.
Stephen Colbert called it “blatant censorship” to appease President Donald Trump. Jimmy Fallon said he wanted Kimmel back and vowed to keep mocking Trump even if it risked censorship.
David Letterman called the move “managed media” and “ridiculous,” saying Kimmel was being punished to “suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office.”
Howard Stern told listeners he had canceled his Disney+ subscription in protest.
“When the government says, ‘I’m not pleased with you, so we’re gonna orchestrate a way to silence you,’ it’s the wrong direction for our country,” Stern said.
Kimmel has remained off the air since Sept. 18. ABC has not announced when or if “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return.
“Jimmy Kimmel is a no-talent loser who has beclowned himself with tanking ratings and by spewing disgusting lies to his audience,” White House spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Post via email.
“That’s why the network kicked him to the curb like a used empty beer can.”
Cheung also lashed out at “The View,” calling the show “devoid of actual talent.” He called the show “a collection of irrelevant has-beens and never-beens that nobody with any commonsense would ever watch unless it was to laugh at them.”
An ABC spokesperson referred The Post to Goldberg’s comments.
The Post has sought comment from Disney, the FCC and the White House.
