"This isn't cancel culture": Bill Simmons reveals true feelings on Jimmy Kimmel's suspension after Charlie Kirk-MAGA gang comments

ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live," on Wednesday in the wake of the 57-year-old comedian's controversial comments on political activist Charlie Kirk's death.

According to reports, Disney and ABC discussed the decision after Kimmel's comment on Kirk's death on Monday.

“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,” Kimmel said on Monday.

Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, said Disney could lose its local broadcast licenses over the controversy, leading to the suspension of Kimmel by the network.

Bill Simmons, who had worked with Kimmel more than two decades ago reflected on his suspension on his podcast on Thursday. He said (4:30 onwards):

If you want to get rid of a show like Jimmy's show, this is the moment to do it. But what was interesting in Rolling Stone the next day, they had this tidbit in the hours leading up to the decision to pull Kimmel. 'Two sources familiar with the matter, say senior executives at ABC, it's owner Disney and affiliates convened emergency meetings to figure out how to minimize the damage.'

"'Multiple execs felt that Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line,' Which I agree with. 'The two sources say the threat of Trump administration retaliation loomed' and that's why this isn't cancel culture, this is censorship, which is a completely different situation."

Bill Simmons downplayed controversy around Tom Brady's presence in Raiders coaching booth

Earlier this week, Tom Brady made headlines for his presence in the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching booth during the Week 2 clash against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.

Several analysts raised the "conflict of interest" issue with Brady's dual role as a broadcaster and a minority owner (Raiders). However, Bill Simmons claimed it isn't what it looked like.

"Tom Brady, is this cheating that he’s in the Fox booth? but then also…I’ve done the basketball version of where you get to meet the coach and talk about the players," Simmons said. "It’s a little overrated, it’s not like they’re like, ‘Here’s our game plan.’ It’s more stuff like, ‘We really like Tucker Kraft, he’s been a pleasant surprise. It’s not here is our game plan.”

Brady's role with Fox comes with several restrictions and with his latest coaching booth controversy, it could get more stricter.