Bassem Youssef, the Egyptian satirist whose “Daily Show”-like program was canceled after the military seized the once pro-democracy government, watched the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel with an immediate sense of familiarity.
“My Fellow American Citizens,” Youssef wrote on X. “Welcome to my world.”
Youssef’s show skewering public figures led to a criminal investigation in 2013 after complaints that he had insulted then-President Mohammed Morsi. When a military coup followed, pressure on Youssef intensified. He announced that the climate in Egypt was “not suitable for a political satire program.” Youssef fled the country and resettled in the United States.
In all the stunning things about ABC’s swift removal of Kimmel, its longtime late-night host and Oscars-hosting face of the network, perhaps the least surprising was that a comedian was at the center of a battle over free speech.
As long as jokes have been told, comedians have drawn the ire of the powerful. That has often put comedians on the front lines of free-speech battles, from George Carlin violating obscenity laws to a satirical puppet show trying to exist in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In authoritarian regimes, crackdowns on speech usually make comedy a target.
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