The late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in a rapid and shocking turn of events, has recently been suspended by ABC, a Disney-owned network, raising important questions about free speech, censorship and entertainment.

While Arts and Entertainment is not usually the place for reporting on current news affairs, it is important to address the fact that not only freedom of speech is central to satire and criticism, it is central to the subversive nature of art and comedy, facets of media important to critical commentary on political or social developments.

Jimmy Kimmel, a man who has had this program running for more than 20 years, is an outspoken critic of Trump and his policies and frequently rebukes him on his show.

However, in this instance, Kimmel allegedly made controversial statements about Charlie Kirk’s death, the far-right co-founder of Turning Point USA who was assassinated earlier this month.

Although it is debatable whether Kimmel moved into the realm of controversy in his statement, what is not debatable is that his over 20-year-old show was suspended for this usage of free speech to criticize the President, and his lackluster “grief” of Kirk and his great enthusiasm about a new ballroom in the White House instead.

While ABC does have a right to pull shows it deems will be detrimental to the company since it is not a government agency, it does not have a right to be strong-armed by the Federal Communications Commission into suspending a program, which is a government agency.

This event, while small, could be precedent setting—a horrible premonition. However, time and time again, coordinated efforts by organized groups tend to create positive outcomes for the defense of the freedom of speech.