Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said the agency that regulates television “threatened” the show and that an interview with James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, will not air on television but on YouTube \u2014 thus bypassing any control or regulation by the Federal Communications Commission.<\/p>\n
It’s not the first time a TV show has moved an interview with Talarico to YouTube. The candidate’s appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show in February was\u00a0moved online\u00a0over network fears that it would violate regulatory guidance from the Federal Communications Commission on giving\u00a0equal time\u00a0to political candidates.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: What is the ‘equal time’ rule that Colbert says led CBS to pull his Talarico interview?<\/a><\/p>\n Talarico is in a tight race against Republican, Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, and has given Democrats hope of winning statewide in the otherwise GOP-dominated Lone Star State.<\/p>\n “For the whole 20+ years of our show, in fact, I’ve been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem,” said Kimmel on his Wednesday night show, the titular “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”<\/p>\n “Something has changed,” he continued, suggesting that Trump’s presidency was that something. “His FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates our local stations, based on simple traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings it would seem they don’t like.”<\/p>\n