To the editor:

Are you alarmed that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended, even though he has now been reinstated?

Well, I am! You should be alarmed even if you don’t care for or watch Jimmy Kimmel — or any other late-night comedian. This isn’t just about losing a late-night host; it is an attack on free speech, a revered First Amendment right.

Historically, political comedy isn’t supposed to cover only safe or popular opinions. Instead, it’s about pushing limits and saying what others might not dare to say. Vladimir Putin knew that political comedy was essential to democracy when he was first elected president in 2000. By attacking mainstream media and focusing on television comedy, he systematically transitioned Russia’s fragile democracy to an autocracy. The current autocratic presidents of Hungary and Turkey followed the same playbook.

Kimmel isn’t perfect; we don’t need to agree with every joke or comment to value someone’s right to say it. What bothers me most is the message his suspension sends.

If someone with Kimmel’s platform can be suspended for speaking their mind, what does that mean for the rest of us? Are we supposed to stay silent and play it safe when we write letters to the editor, just in case our words upset someone? That’s not the culture of a free society. Americans want open conversation and debate free from fear of censorship.

I watch shows like Kimmel not just for the laughs, but because they mix humor with honesty. Silencing a voice, any voice, doesn’t make us stronger; it makes us weaker. If we want a society where ideas can be challenged, debated, and even laughed at, then we need more room for free expression, not less.

If free speech ends at the punchline, then we all missed the joke.

Regina Kekis

Rome