On the evening of September 25, 2025, the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live! buzzed with more than just celebrity banter. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the beloved star of Veep and Seinfeld, sat across from Jimmy Kimmel, sharing a personal story that, strangely enough, echoed the very political storm swirling around the late-night host himself. Her father, Gérard "William" Louis-Dreyfus, a French-American billionaire and outspoken civil rights activist, had once found his own name on President Richard Nixon's infamous "enemies list." As Louis-Dreyfus recalled, her father wore the designation as a "badge of honor," a testament to his values and his willingness to speak truth to power.
"He was a big civil rights activist and a big proponent of voter protection — and [the] First Amendment, of course," Louis-Dreyfus told Kimmel, according to People. The Nixon-era enemies list, as she explained, wasn't just a footnote in history. It was a tool for political retribution, a way for the president to target actors, journalists, politicians, and others—most of them tied to the Democratic Party. The list, which reportedly ballooned to nearly 500 names, was accompanied by efforts to harass and intimidate those who dared to criticize the White House. As History.com and People both note, the original printed copy of the list was even kept as a memento by William Louis-Dreyfus himself.
Kimmel, never one to shy away from a pointed joke, riffed on the strangeness of the situation. Pulling out a framed printout of Nixon's list, he quipped, "Now, I want to say, to Nixon's credit — at least he released his list." The audience laughed, but the subtext was unmistakable: the parallels between Nixon's era and the current political climate are, as Kimmel put it, "interestingly similar." Julia Louis-Dreyfus agreed, adding, "Richard Nixon seems quaint at the moment we're living through."
But this wasn't just a nostalgic trip through Watergate-era history. The conversation between Louis-Dreyfus and Kimmel came against the backdrop of a very real and very current battle over freedom of expression in America. In the weeks leading up to the broadcast, Kimmel himself had become the target of a high-profile feud with President Donald Trump. The conflict reached a fever pitch on September 17, 2025, when Jimmy Kimmel Live! was abruptly suspended by ABC. The reason? Kimmel's on-air comments about the investigation into the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, which prompted a public threat from Trump's Federal Communications Commission chair: "we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
As reported by People, the suspension of Kimmel's show was not an isolated incident. For months, Trump, then 79, had been calling for Kimmel's cancellation, using his platform and influence to pressure Disney and ABC. The move sparked a tidal wave of public backlash, with many questioning whether the FCC was trampling on the First Amendment by targeting one of the president's most vocal critics. After six days of heated debate and mounting criticism, Kimmel's show was reinstated on September 23, 2025.
Yet the scars of the ordeal lingered. As of late September, two major local TV station owners continued to refuse to air Jimmy Kimmel Live! in their markets, a clear sign that the battle over media freedom was far from over. In a poignant moment, Kimmel took to Instagram hours before his first show back, paying tribute to the late Norman Lear—another Nixon enemies list alumnus and a fierce opponent of FCC overreach. "Missing this guy today," Kimmel wrote, invoking the memory of a man who never backed down from a fight for free speech.
The parallels between Nixon's enemies list and Trump's campaign against Kimmel were not lost on observers. On September 29, 2025, renowned First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams joined journalist John to dissect the broader implications of these events. Abrams, whose storied career includes defending the New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case and representing Mitch McConnell in Citizens United, didn't mince words. He explained that Kimmel's reinstatement, while a victory for the host, was unlikely to put an end to Trump's legal and regulatory assaults on broadcasters and the news media.
According to Abrams, the situation had escalated to a new and dangerous phase with the indictment of former FBI Director Jim Comey. "The indictment of Jim Comey marks a new and dangerous phase in the administration's weaponization of the legal system," Abrams told John, as reported in the segment. The message was clear: the use of governmental power to target political opponents was no longer a theoretical concern. It was a reality unfolding in real time.
Perhaps most chilling was Abrams' assessment of the current political climate. "We are now living in a world where no hypothetical abuse of presidential power is too outlandish to take seriously," he warned. The boundaries of what was once considered unthinkable had shifted, and the implications for democracy and free speech were profound.
For many, the saga of Jimmy Kimmel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and the ghosts of Nixon's enemies list is more than just a story about television or celebrity feuds. It's a reflection of deeper currents in American society—a battle over who gets to speak, who gets to criticize, and who holds the power to silence dissent. From the Nixon era to the present day, the tools may have changed, but the stakes remain the same.
In the end, Kimmel's return to the airwaves was not just about one man's fight for his job. It was a stand for the principle that comedy, criticism, and even uncomfortable truths have a place in the public square. As Louis-Dreyfus said of her father, "It was a badge of honor to him" to be targeted by those in power for standing up for civil rights and free expression. Today, that badge feels as relevant as ever.
