Disney facing growing backlash over decision to take Jimmy Kimmel off air
The backlash at Disney’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! has intensified
Rogers Sports & Media
Disney is facing a growing backlash over its decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air “indefinitely” following remarks the late-night host made about the killing of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Prominent figures including Barack Obama added their voices to the debate, which has reached a fever pitch in the US over the past 48 hours after Disney-owned broadcast net ABC put Kimmel’s show on hold, while several hundred protestors made their voices heard outside Disney studios and offices in LA and New York.
The former American president took aim at Republicans’ apparent U-turn on the importance of free speech, but also called on media companies and outlets to show more backbone.
Alongside a repost of a New York Times article titled “Washington Post Columnist Says She Was Fired for Posts After Charlie Kirk Shooting,” Obama said: “This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent – and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
On Monday, Kimmel suggested Kirk’s suspected killer was a Republican and that the “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Kirk was shot dead at a debate at Utah Valley University on September 10.
Disney’s decision came after local station group Nexstar Media said it “strongly” objected to Kimmel’s comments and would not air his late-night show. Nexstar’s decision came after Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr said on a podcast that local station groups should “push back” on the likes of Disney and Comcast and refuse to run shows that don’t “serve the needs of our local communities.”
Michael Kosta, a comedian who is among the roster of hosts on The Daily Show, urged TV channels to stand by their principles and their talent. “This is a serious moment in American history. TV networks MUST push back. This is complete BS,” he wrote on Instagram Stories.
Several Hollywood unions have also voiced their concerns about what is being perceived as an attack on free speech.
“As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent,” said the Writers Guild of America, adding that it “stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his writers.”
Actors including Tatiana Maslany and Amy Landecker have posted on social media to say they are cancelling their Disney+ subscriptions.
This marks the second time this summer that a late-night television show has been at the centre of the American culture war.
In July, Paramount-owned US broadcaster CBS announced that it was cancelling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, characterising it as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.” At the time, many critics argued Paramount was trying to appease Trump so the FCC would approve its takeover by Skydance.
Over the past nine months, both Disney and Paramount have settled lawsuits with the US president. In both case, experts have argued the US studios had a strong chance of winning, though both opted to settle, prompting accusations that they are bending the knee to the Trump administration.
On Wednesday, after Disney announced it was benching Kimmel, Trump wrote on the Truth Social: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
