Whoopi Goldberg Checks the FCC on Live TV Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension [Video]

“The View” has finally addressed the Jimmy Kimmel suspension, with Whoopi Goldberg starting the conversation on a strong note.

Video

Kicking off Monday’s episode, Goldberg didn’t waste time getting to the point. “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? No one silences us.”

ABC’s decision to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week caused a stir, especially since “The View” stayed quiet at first. Goldberg cleared that up.

“When the news broke last week about Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, we took a breath to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first,” she explained.

She didn’t shy away from criticizing the government’s role either.

“Someone can say something they shouldn’t and get taken off the air,” she said. “But the government cannot apply pressure to force someone to be silenced.”

The co-hosts used the moment to speak broadly about the dangers of censorship.

“We talk about freedom of speech a lot because we are always in somebody’s mess because somebody has decided that we have said something that’s offensive,” Goldberg continued. “But we fight for everybody’s right to have freedom of speech because it means my speech is free, it means your speech is free.”

Ana Navarro praised viewers “for demanding truth and courage from us” before warning that government control over speech is a slippery slope. “This is what dictators and authoritarians do,” she said.

Alyssa Farah Griffin summed it up: “The First Amendment is the first for a reason.”