Why Left’s Sudden Free Speech Defense Is a Fraud
'Think Before You Post' cancellation one of many attacks ignored, accepted
Liberals rallied to Jimmy Kimmel’s side after his suspension for misleading viewers about Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Free speech must be defended, they cried. Democracy hangs in the balance!
To quote a favorite Tim Robinson meme … “You sure about that?”
Why so cynical? Wouldn’t the artistic community be the first group to rise up when speech is under assault? Surely, Hollywood stars like Jennifer Aniston and Oscar Isaac, who both raged against the Kimmel suspension, would similarly fight other speech infringements.
Right?
Wrong.
The same liberals who demanded Kimmel return to his late-night slot have been stone silent following dozens, nay hundreds, of free speech assaults. Here are just a few:
- Riley Gaines hides for three hours while Leftists try to prevent her from speaking at a college event
- Late-night hosts chuckled as Dr. Seuss’ books got pulled from circulation
- Candace Owens’ documentary screening canceled at CCSU
- Jewish performers like Michael Rapaport and Matisyahu have had their gigs canceled because they speak out on behalf of Israel
- The Twitter Files scandal
- The Biden administration forced social media platforms to censor speech
- And, now, Great Britain is silencing social media speech by jailing citizens for sharing the “wrong” views
The latter subject should be top of mind for every Kimmel defender. What happens across the pond could very easily occur here next.
Yet have any risen up to challenge Britain’s freedom-snuffing laws? Has Kimmel himself brought up the matter via his nightly monologues?
RELATED: AN OPEN LETTER TO HOLLYWOOD’S NEW FREE SPEECH WARRIORS
If there’s evidence of a star or starlet speaking out on this issue, please share it in the comments below. It certainly hasn’t sparked a wave of anger from the Hollywood Left.
The problem is so toxic Spiked made a documentary about it. “Think Before You Post” chronicles this chilling assault on speech.
Here is the official summary for the film.
‘Think before you post.’ Those were the words screamed out by government social-media accounts, threatening to lock up people for ‘hate speech’, as riots swept the United Kingdom in the summer of 2024. To those who hadn’t been paying attention, it offered a stark insight into a supposedly liberal, democratic nation that had come to police speech as much as, sometimes even more so, than actual violence. Inciting racial hatred, inciting religious hatred, ‘grossly offensive’ online communications – over the past 60 years or so, Britain has written one new speech crime after another into its statute books. And it has led to a situation in which at least 30 people a day are now arrested in England and Wales for social-media posts.
The documentary is available online, but the minds behind the film scheduled a theatrical screening in East London to spread its message and host a post-film Q&A.
Debate. Disagreement. It’s Free Speech 101.
It’s not hard to guess what happened next.
The Rich Mix theater, where the film was to be shown on Nov. 25, abruptly canceled the screening. Spiked editor Tom Slater shared the venue’s email explaining the cancellation.
‘Since confirming your booking, it has come to light that the content and speakers featured do not align with our values and mission here at Rich Mix … Our founding objectives are to support marginalised communities (primarily communities facing racial inequity), promote intercultural understanding, eliminate racial discrimination, and foster equality of opportunity through arts and culture.’
If that sounds Orwellian, you’re not wrong.
Will the Legacy Media cover the cancellation? Unlikely. So far, only The Telegraph and Hot Air have done so – beyond Spiked itself.
Will Aniston, Isaac and the endless line of Kimmel defenders use their clout to shame the theater into screening the film? Will they so much as mention it on Instagram or X?
No one can predict the future, but we can read the past. And the chances that this attack on speech will be mentioned by a progressive artist hover between slim and none.
The Vegas odds on “none” are pretty solid.