Political commentator and attorney Elizabeth Booker Houston (@bookersquared) is calling on Americans to boycott major networks and fight for the reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show.
While calling for the boycott, she also condemned the recent remarks by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr.
In a strongly worded Instagram post, Booker Houston said, “Yes, boycott the networks! Yes, fight to get Jimmy Kimmel his show back! Yes, fight against the heinous remarks made by FCC Chair, Brendan Carr! But remember how we got here, and develop some damn pattern recognition!”
Her comments follow ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel after his controversial remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The move sparked outrage across the entertainment industry, with late-night hosts including Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, and Jimmy Fallon defending Kimmel and framing his removal as an attack on free speech.
In her accompanying video, Booker Houston argued that free speech suppression is not new and disproportionately affects Black women and marginalized voices.
She highlighted Amber Ruffin being blocked from hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the creation of a federal “DEI watch list” targeting Black women who supported diversity initiatives.
“This is not the first — it’s just now hit the white men,” she said, noting that Kimmel’s suspension and similar pressures on Stephen Colbert mark a tipping point in a broader pattern.
Quoting her recent interview with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Booker Houston said: “When white folks in America are getting a cold, Black folks have pneumonia. And Black women are very often the canaries in the coal mine.”
She tied the crackdown on speech to economic hardship, pointing out that Black women currently face a 7% unemployment rate and that more than 300,000 are out of work due to what she described as “infringements on our speech, on speaking out for diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Booker Houston closed her remarks with a stark message:
“I am so sorry if you just figured out this week that there is no such thing as free speech under this administration anymore. I’m so sorry. But we already knew.”
