Jimmy Kimmel’s Pulled Talarico Interview Tops 5 Million YouTube Views

Jimmy Kimmel’s pulled interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico drew more than 5 million YouTube views within 24 hours of its release, according to Variety’s report.

The interview was removed from the broadcast of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Kimmel said threats from Donald Trump’s FCC could affect the network’s affiliate stations, particularly in Texas. “Out of consideration for our local stations,” Kimmel said, the interview would be posted on YouTube instead of airing on television.

The 20-minute conversation began with Kimmel asking Talarico why Trump and the FCC were “so scared” of him. Talarico, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, said he and his campaign were challenging both the state’s political establishment and “this entire corrupt system.”

The audience response gives the interview significant reach among viewers who might otherwise have encountered it through late-night television. It also follows an earlier FCC-related dispute involving Talarico: “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” posted its unaired interview with him to YouTube in February, where it surpassed 9 million views, Variety reported.