![\"Jimmy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IAVSLYH4WFGZBBGZCTVR2HSWNE.jpg\")
Molly McNearney is the executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the host\u2019s wife. Maya Dehlin Spach\/WireImage <\/p>\nJimmy Kimmel\u2019s wife didn\u2019t hold back in criticizing President Donald Trump after her husband was briefly pulled off the air earlier this year. <\/p>\n
Molly McNearney, who is executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! as well as the host\u2019s wife, took aim at the president\u2019s threats to free speech during a speech to the Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Women in Entertainment breakfast on Wednesday in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched a show, co-workers, friends and the man I love be put on \u2018indefinite suspension\u2019 after our thin-skinned president asked for his removal and his FCC chair publicly threatened the company we work for,\u201d McNearney said, adding that her husband and colleagues have been \u201cthreatened multiple times\u201d by Trump, 79, during a time when comedy in America has been treated as the \u201cenemy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m one of the lucky ones,\u201d she said, saying \u201cwe got knocked down,\u201d but \u201cwe got back up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly McNearney is the executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the host\u2019s wife. Maya Dehlin Spach\/WireImage <\/p>\n
The television writer and producer said she was invited to speak at Wednesday\u2019s event on freedom of speech, which, until September 16, 2025, she believed was a \u201cguarantee\u201d in her country.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something that I took for granted, something I thought I\u2019d always have,\u201d McNearney said. \u201cLike my period. Did you guys know that those just stop? Your period stops. And it turns out your freedom in this country can too,\u201d the 47-year-old added jokingly. <\/p>\n
Kimmel\u2019s late-night show was pulled off the air<\/a> \u201cindefinitely\u201d by ABC on Sep. 17, after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC\u2019s broadcasting license over one of the comedians monologues in the wake of the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a> earlier that month.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In the monologue that Carr claimed fueled a \u201cnarrative\u201d portraying Kirk\u2019s suspected shooter as a \u201cMAGA- or Republican-motivated person,\u201d Kimmel, 57, said: \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s suspension sparked widespread backlash from celebrities, politicians, and the public, but the president seemed to revel in it<\/a>, claiming Kimmel was fired for \u201clack of talent\u201d and \u201cbad ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, on Sept. 22, Disney announced that the late-night show would return<\/a>, and Kimmel\u2019s comeback monologue\u2014in which he emotionally extended sympathy to Kirk\u2019s widow, Erika Kirk\u2014became his most-watched monologue<\/a> ever, drawing 18 million views in less than 24 hours.<\/p>\n In November, Kimmel and McNearney appeared<\/a> 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 \u201cmourning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI really love getting under his skin,\u201d McNearney told the podcast hosts, referring to Trump. She also revealed that she cut ties<\/a> with family members who support the president. <\/p>\n \u201cWe got knocked down, and with all of you, you helped us get back up. And I cannot thank you enough,\u201d McNearney told the crowd on Wednesday. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Jimmy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PZCTHD3HPJHTPPM4PFZSPZJNAU.jpg\")
Kimmel and his wife admitted that the show’s suspension left them both feeling as if they were in \u201cmourning.\u201d Randy Holmes\/Disney via Getty Images <\/p>\n