Glee star Kevin McHale is sharing a bizarre interaction he had with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on social media.
Following last week's shooting of far-right speaker Charlie Kirk, many public figures spoke out — including, now famously, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
In his Monday monologue, Kimmel said: "We hit some new lows over the weekend with 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."
He also showed a video of Donald Trump being asked how he was holding up after his friend's murder, with Trump responding by talking about White House construction. "This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend," the comedian said. "This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish."
After the comments, Carr threatened to act against ABC and Disney, and ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air indefinitely.
Following the announcement of Kimmel's suspension, McHale posted about the news on X, saying, "This was all in Project 2025, btw." Carr then replied to McHale's post with a GIF of Jack Nicholson vigorously nodding and smiling in the movie Anger Management.
"The head of the FCC seems like a totally normal guy," McHale said in a follow-up post on Thursday. "Thanks for confirming what we already knew."
In an exclusive written statement for Out, McHale reflected on the interaction and what it says about the state of the U.S. "We’re in fascism now. Full stop. Not hyperbole," the actor said. "It's surreal how fast and smooth it’s all happening, but a cornerstone of fascism is to overwhelm. They hide it behind memes and gifs and podcasters so it feels like a joke, but it’s incredibly serious and terrifying."
He added, "Everyone needs to decide where they stand — how would you have responded in early 1930s Germany? Because this is that moment."
This follows an incident that occurred between Carr and CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter. On September 17, Stelter wrote on X that he asked Carr "if he had any new comment now that ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel's show," revealing that Carr responded with a GIF from The Office of two characters doing a celebratory "raise the roof" motion.
Carr was named as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Trump in November, after spending almost a decade as a commissioner for the agency. He also wrote the chapter on the regulatory agency in Project 2025, a political blueprint created by far-right politicians and activists that lays out what they want from a president.
On Benny Johnson's podcast, The Benny Show, Carr said that Kimmel's comments are "a very, very serious issue right now for Disney."
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said, according to AP News. "These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
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