'Mo'Kelly on KFI' Was a Casualty of Industry-Wide Budget Cuts in 2025

Morris W. O'Kelly, also known as Mo'Kelly, hosted radio shows on KFI for more than a decade. After more than 10 years of KFI's weekend Mo'Kelly Show, the political and cultural commentator hosted Mo'Kelly on KFI for three years.

In October of 2025, Mo' and his producer, Twala Sharp, became victims of the iHeartRadio layoffs. Mo' told the LA Times that he gave the show everything he had. He said the show was a "true representation of what [he] wanted talk radio to be."

While companies that rely on public funding, like PBS and NPR, suffered after Congress cut $1.1 billion previously allocated for public radio, iHeartRadio issued layoffs because of more general changes in the industry. LA Times notes that listeners switching over to digital formats has made AM technology somewhat obsolete.

iHeartMedia previously "gutted its newsroom" in 2024 and saw ratings continue to decline in 2025. Despite the show's cancellation, Mo' said that he was proud of what he accomplished. "I wanted to bring voices of people less often heard, viewpoints less often expressed, and communities less often featured," he said.

Speaking about the state of commercial radio, Mo' said, "The volatility has always been there, but it’s even more pronounced now ... The future of AM radio as we know it is coming to an end." He elaborated on the decline of AM radio technology, saying, "The idea of having to use a broadcast transmitter of 50,000 watts is early 20th-century technology. People can get in their car, and they can listen to anything, anyone, anywhere, and at any time, thanks to Bluetooth."

After the show cancellation, Mo' posted a long message to his Facebook page, thanking those who helped him on the show and listing their accomplishments. He wrote, "First African-American weekday host in the history of KFIAM640 talk programming, the #1 news/talk station in America. We overcame tremendous odds, haters, disbelievers, and obstacles along the way. Most of you will never know. But we are the sum total of our advocates, and I'm proud to say (as noted above), I had some great ones."

Mo' has been posting regularly on his Instagram and Facebook pages, sharing his views on current events and politics. As of early 2026, he's been featured on Spectrum News as an analyst as well as a contributor to Inside the Issues With Amrit Singh. He appeared on Megan McCain's Citizen McCain podcast and BlackPressUSA's morning show.

On a more casual note, Mo' posted about officiating the RadioFree KJLH celebrity basketball game and teaching a junior martial arts class in Culver City, CA.

In the past, he's appeared on KTTV FOX11, CNN International, CNN, MSNBC, and HLN's Across America with Carol Costello, per Politicon. Mo's website also lists him as a featured American affairs commentator on BBC Radio, TalkTV, and CNN International.