Voices Silenced: The Jimmy Kimmel Controversy

Words have consequences – a truth that echoes through the shocking headlines of our current media landscape. The indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's show by ABC serves as a stark reminder that even established personalities face repercussions for inflammatory statements. After Kimmel's controversial comments about Charlie Kirk's murder, suggesting "the MAGA gang was trying to score political points," the network took decisive action, replacing his show with Family Feud reruns.

This isn't simply another chapter in so-called "cancel culture." As Dave Portnoy astutely observed, there's a critical distinction between digging up decades-old statements to target someone versus facing immediate consequences for current remarks. Private companies have always maintained the right to enforce standards among their representatives – a reality that extends from corporate offices to entertainment studios. While some celebrate this development and others decry it, the situation reflects our evolving understanding of speech's power and impact.

Meanwhile, two devastating stories highlight the tragic consequences when compassion fails. The identification of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas's dismembered body in singer David's Tesla trunk presents a horrifying mystery. Missing since age 13, with reports of "a boyfriend named David," her discovery raises urgent questions about protection of vulnerable teens. Equally heartbreaking is Jesse Mobley Jr.'s death outside a Texas steakhouse after staff assumed he was homeless and moved him outside instead of calling for medical help – a fatal misunderstanding that cost a family their third child in 13 years. These stories share a common thread about responsibility, consequences, and our collective humanity. How might we navigate accountability while preserving dignity and compassion for all? That remains our most crucial question.

Join us in reflecting on these developments and share your thoughts. Will you be watching Charlie Kirk's upcoming memorial service in the stadium? Your perspective matters in these complicated conversations.

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Jimmy Kimmel Show Pulled by ABC
• 3:35 Teen's Body Found in David's Tesla
• 6:14 Steakhouse Tragedy: Man Dies After Staff Neglect
• 10:58 Question of the Day: Charlie Kirk Memorial

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Hey, good morning, happy Thursday. Ooh, all right, we are moving along with the week, are we not? Yes, we are, let's see. I wanted to skim over some headlines about Jimmy Kimmel. Abc pulled his show indefinitely. How about that?

Speaker 1: 0:33

When I first heard this, I thought, oh no, are we going down this road of cancel culture too? Oh no, are we going down this road of cancel culture too? But here's the thing. And then I thought, no, no, that's censorship. And then I thought, number one, the government's not doing it, private industry is doing it. And also, my husband read to me this morning something that Dave Portnoy put out, which I thought, yes, okay, I can agree with that, dave Portnoy, which sometimes I don't agree with him, but this part I do. He said that cancel culture is the left digging around 20-year-old tweets and Facebook posts and stuff of somebody that they don't like to try to find something, to pull it back out 20 years ago, to try to get them fired, whereas what this is happening now in real time is that there are consequences for what you say and people can fire you. Your boss can fire you, okay, so just be aware of that. But yeah, so I'm sorry, my damn throat. I tried to clear it before I started.

Speaker 1: 1:41

All right, so the ABC. What did they air in place last night? It was a rerun of the Family Feud. Let's see just a couple of headlines and I'm not going to read the story. So Jimmy Kimmel reportedly effing livid over ABC pulling live as Trump cheers. Great news for America.

Speaker 1: 2:02

Kimmel faced backlash after he said Monday night that MAGA gang was trying to score political points off Kirk's murder after the right-wing influencer was shot dead on the campus of Utah Valley University. What did Jimmy Kimmel say? Abc star stars controversial Charlie Kirk comment in full. Of course we all know by now what he said. Abc airs replacement and Jimmy Kimmel already said that ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel live indefinitely after offensive Charlie Kirk comments.

Speaker 1: 2:33

Lots of headlines going on, so another one bites the dust. Is that right? Another one gone from because of their atrocious either lies and they're not even a news. They're not a news program. I mean, I know you have free speech and you can say whatever you want, mostly anything you want when it's just awful stuff like this and that you're like I said, private industries do have you could say something about, but you're gonna just be aware there are consequences. All right, I know, I just rambled on about that because I'm thinking about something else. All right, uh, let's see what do I have over here on my youtube, I mean on my x feed. Let's see, I have two stories for you. One is a follow-up of this singer, rapper whatever, david remember.

Speaker 1: 3:30

A body was found in the trunk of his car. Well, we know who it is now. And there come on. I think this guy's in trouble. I really do. So.

Speaker 1: 3:41

The body in the trunk of the car. Her name was Celeste Rivas. She was only 15 years old, but she was 13 years old when she went missing. Uh, so she? She's id'd as the dismembered teen found in david's tesla. As mom reveals, she had boyfriend named david.

Speaker 1: 4:03

California authorities have id'd the dismembered teen found in the trunk of a tesla registered to singer david as celeste rivas-year-old girl with the same tattoo as the artist and who once had a boyfriend named David. According to her mom, Rivas' mutilated body was found last week in the trunk of a Tesla sedan sitting in an impound lot in Hollywood Hills, A car registered to the 20-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke. The girl was identified as Revis, who went missing from Lake S-L-S-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-. Uh, how many times have they said this? I'm sorry to repeat all this. Uh, she also had a tattoo on her right index finger that read similar to one david has, according to tmz, although other celebs have the same ink, including rihanna and lindsey lohan. I wonder what that means. What does that mean? Wonder what that tattoo means? The petite teen was found wearing a tube top with black leggings and a yellow bracelet with similar metal stud earrings. Her body was wrapped in plastic and was so badly decomposed that it wasn't fully intact and was first reported to authorities because the car itself started to emit a foul odor. First reported to authorities because the car itself started to emit a foul odor. Authorities linked the car to David, who has been cooperating with authorities, and the words cooperating with authorities are in quotation marks. Revis was only 13 years old. We already know that. So what do you think? I think this guy might have some explaining to do. The article goes on. If you would like to continue reading that, it's on my x file.

Speaker 1: 5:59

All right, this last story. This is so sad and I've got some definitely opinions on it from the new york post. This texas man dies in steakhouse as staff dumped his body outside, assuming he was sleeping homeless man. So apparently this guy goes into a steakhouse, falls asleep at the booth or wherever he was sitting and instead of trying to wake him up and move them outside or whatever, or even if they couldn't wake them up, calling 911, hello, they just simply move them outside and leave him there where he dies. Oh, but you know, was it drugs? It could have been drugs. If it was drugs, I mean, most people don't have money to go into a restaurant to eat. So I don't know what do you? I don't know. That doesn't tell us what he died of.

Speaker 1: 6:58

A Texas man died in the parking lot of a steakhouse because staff at the restaurant. But I am going to go tell you more about his family too, because his parents, his parents apparently now have lost three children, grown, I think. But anyway, let's go on and read the article. A Texas man died in the parking lot of a steakhouse because staff at the restaurant assumed he was passed out vagrant. Carrying him back outside instead of calling for medical help is devastated.

Speaker 1: 7:29

Family claims jesse mobley jr allegedly fell asleep after eating a meal. So he did eat a meal at kffo afro steakhouse in houston on august 7th and was moved by the employees outside, where he was propped up with his belongings and not discovered until the next morning, according to the Houston Police Department. So with his belongings. What does that mean? Was he homeless? Was he like? I don't know, maybe he had been in there before, who knows that? The article doesn't tell us anything. Uh, so because the staff thought mobley was homeless, they didn't call 9-1-1 for assistance, instead removing the man themselves. Police said the 34 year old who, okay, so he was not homeless. Here we go. He lived with his aunt, his aunt, his aunt, whatever. Uh was pronounced dead by first responders responders outside the eldridge west oaks neighborhood strip mail mall just after 9 am. I'm sorry y'all, I'm missing this all up.

Speaker 1: 8:37

A student from behind the chair institute, a beauty school next door to the restaurant, made the grim discovery on her way to class. Mobley's aunt, charlene Fogg-Drake, was left in disgust by the restaurant, claiming the staff's actions led to her nephew's death. I think she's probably right on this. Why didn't you call 911? I feel like people need to be accountable for it. I really do, she said. Owners of the steakhouse declined to comment. I'm sure they did. No cause of death was revealed as police await the results of an autopsy.

Speaker 1: 9:16

Mobley's parents, who have now lost three children over the last 13 years, questioned why the restaurant didn't help their son. So I have questions already. This family might I don't know, I don't know, I'm not uh, were they on drugs? Did they die of fentanyl overdose? What happened here, I don't know. Uh, we just think, if okay, I'm not going to finish reading this oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, here we go.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Morning report. I'm sorry, the heartbreak renee and her husband, jesse senior these are the parents have faced over the last decade has taken a toll on mobley's father, big jesse, as they call him, uh, has suffered 13 heart attacks, y'all two strokes and needed 10 stints and surgery on his carotid artery. The outlet reported good heavens, there's no aging gracefully after losing a child, he said, revealing he has lost 60 pounds, I guess. So the grieving parents claimed Mobley's body was decaying and his skin had turned a dark color by the time they saw him the way we. I'm not going to read that because it's so. Yeah, god bless.

Speaker 1: 10:41

There needs to be some answers there. I wonder if we'll ever find a follow-up. Probably not. All right, we need to get to the question of the day. My question of the day is they're going to do a memorial service in the stadium for Charlie Kirk. I had a feeling they were going to do this before it was even announced and I'm sure it will be streamed somewhere. My question is are you going to watch it? All right, that's it. That's all I've got. Thanks for listening, gotta.