Mayoral Candidate Katie Wilson Won’t Participate In KOMO Debate Unless They Bring Back Jimmy Kimmel

In a press conference at KOMO PLAZA Thursday, progressive Seattle Mayoral candidate Katie Wilson told the press she will not agree to any appearances on KOMO until the network brings back Jimmy Kimmel. This includes her upcoming debate with Mayor Bruce Harrell, scheduled for Oct. 8. Further, she won’t spend a dime of her campaign funds on advertisements on Sinclair-owned outlets. 

“I cannot in good conscience participate in an event that will drive viewers and dollars to a broadcasting corporation that colludes and capitulates, that collapses like a house of cards, under pressure from the Trump administration,” Wilson's prepared remarks read.

Earlier this month, the Walt Disney Company prematurely capitulated to facism, indefinitely suspending "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" after the head of the Federal Communications Commission condemned pretty benign comments Kimmel made related to the assasination of right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk. Way to continue his supposed legacy as a free speech maximalist.

Libs quickly coalesced around the comedian, boycotting the company’s streaming service and calling for Kimmel’s reinstatement. Disney caved and brought him back to television screens earlier this week. But he didn’t air everywhere. Two TV station giants, Sinclair and Nexstar, are holding firm in their commitment to muzzling Kimmel, blocking the show from more than a quarter of ABC affiliates. This includes Sinclair's Seattle TV station, KOMO. As though we didn't have enough reasons to ignore everything that God forsaken channel does. 

Wilson’s not the only one applying pressure. Gov. Bob Ferguson, Sen. Maria Cantwell, and several rounds of protests have demanded his return to the Seattle media market. The Seattle Theatre Group and Seattle Opera also vowed not to advertise on KOMO while Sinclair suppresses speech.

Wilson told reporters that she hopes the debate still happens — either without KOMO's involvement or because Sinclair does the right thing. But even if the whole event falls through, the public can substitute it with any one of the 20 debates she's participating in.

Harrell's not yet committing to a boycott, he said in a press statement following his opponent's announcement. With two weeks left to pressure Sinclair and their advertisers, he said he'll "continue exploring effective options in partnership with Seattle’s Federal leaders– who have endorsed my campaign– to restore programming not only in our city, but throughout the nation."

Instead of joining Wilson, he called her advocacy of the First Amendment "situational" and "opportunistic."

"Authentic civil rights leaders stand firm and demand change-- not flip flop for political gain," Harrell said.

Harrell noted that Wilson "happily" participated in an interview with KOMO this week where she accused him of ramping up press conferences in the wake of his primary loss. Wilson address that in her press conference. She felt weird about it. Won't happen again.

He also called her a hypocrite when in may she "advocated for denying free speech permits protected under the first amendment. However, the link his campaign cited Wilson arguing that “a fundamentalist Christian, anti-trans, ‘family values’ demonstration should never have been permitted for Cal Anderson Park, in the heart of Seattle’s historic LGBTQ neighborhood.” It seems Harrell would agree with her stance considering he and Council Member Hollingsworth negotiated for a future right-wing rally to take place outside of the gayborhood.

Despite his cutting words, Harrell seemed inspired by her nonetheless. Just an hour after Wilson announced a press conference on KOMO Plaza, Harrell’s team made a quick, low-effort Instagram post — simply a screenshot of a Seattle Times story and a caption demanding Kimmel’s reinstatement. Almost like the campaign just realized that Harrell responded to Kirk’s assasination in mere hours, but kept his mouth shut about all the fascist, anti-speech crackdown that followed.