Jimmy Kimmel’s wife didn’t hold back in criticizing President Donald Trump after her husband was briefly pulled off the air earlier this year.
Molly McNearney, who is executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! as well as the host’s wife, took aim at the president’s threats to free speech during a speech to the Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
“I watched a show, co-workers, friends and the man I love be put on ‘indefinite suspension’ after our thin-skinned president asked for his removal and his FCC chair publicly threatened the company we work for,” McNearney said, adding that her husband and colleagues have been “threatened multiple times” by Trump, 79, during a time when comedy in America has been treated as the “enemy.”
“I’m one of the lucky ones,” she said, saying “we got knocked down,” but “we got back up.”
The television writer and producer said she was invited to speak at Wednesday’s event on freedom of speech, which, until September 16, 2025, she believed was a “guarantee” in her country.
“It’s something that I took for granted, something I thought I’d always have,” McNearney said. “Like my period. Did you guys know that those just stop? Your period stops. And it turns out your freedom in this country can too,” the 47-year-old added jokingly.
Kimmel’s late-night show was pulled off the air “indefinitely” by ABC on Sep. 17, after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcasting license over one of the comedians monologues in the wake of the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier that month.
In the monologue that Carr claimed fueled a “narrative” portraying Kirk’s suspected shooter as a “MAGA- or Republican-motivated person,” Kimmel, 57, said: “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 and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel’s suspension sparked widespread backlash from celebrities, politicians, and the public, but the president seemed to revel in it, claiming Kimmel was fired for “lack of talent” and “bad ratings.”
Still, on Sept. 22, Disney announced that the late-night show would return, and Kimmel’s comeback monologue—in which he emotionally extended sympathy to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk—became his most-watched monologue ever, drawing 18 million views in less than 24 hours.
In November, Kimmel and McNearney appeared on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast, where they admitted that the abrupt suspension of the show left them both feeling as if they were in “mourning.”
“I really love getting under his skin,” McNearney told the podcast hosts, referring to Trump. She also revealed that she cut ties with family members who support the president.
“We got knocked down, and with all of you, you helped us get back up. And I cannot thank you enough,” McNearney told the crowd on Wednesday.
Since the show’s reinstatement, Kimmel has not stopped roasting the president, despite the fear that, according to his wife, has consumed them since the suspension.
“We lose our freedom when we are scared, and we are distracted,” McNearney said, adding, “Fear is contagious. But the good news is, so is bravery.”
The Daily Beast reached out to the White House for comment but received no immediate response.
