Disney reinstates Kimmel after widespread protest
Jimmy Kimmil during his last show before suspension
Jimmy Kimmel’s “indefinite” cancellation by Disney-owned network ABC has been overturned within days, following widespread condemnation from some of Hollywood’s biggest players.
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was yanked off air last week, after comments he made during his September 15 monologue about the assassination of Charlie Kirk drew the ire of the Federal Communications Commission.
Following the cancellation, more than 400 of Hollywood’s most powerful names, including Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Ben Affleck, signed an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union that urged citizens to “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights”, calling ABC’s decision “a dark moment for freedom of speech”.
Pressure was also mounted by other late night presenters — past and present — including Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien, all of whom made public statements condemning Disney’s move.
A group of politicians staged a press conference across from the show’s set on Hollywood Boulevard on Monday morning, with Congressman Ted Lieu urging the ABC to “invoke the First Amendment, reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live, sue the FCC, and you will win.”
Overnight, a Disney spokesman said: “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.
“We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
In the monologue, delivered five days after Kirk’s shooting, Kimmel said that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang are desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them”.
He also joked about Trump’s reaction to the shooting, saying: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
The FCC chair Brendan Carr took aim at Kimmel the following day, during an interview on conservative podcast The Benny Show.
Carr called the monologue “the sickest conduct possible” before threatening: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
The ABC’s two biggest affiliate networks, Nexstar and Sinclair, both reacted within hours of Carr’s comments.
Trump’s pick, Brendan Carr
Nexstar, who is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with another TV group, quickly stated it would stop airing Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future”, receiving thanks from Carr for “doing the right thing”. Sinclair followed suit, pulling Kimmel, and airing a remembrance to Kirk during Kimmel’s usual Friday night slot.
On Wednesday September 17, the ABC announced it was bench the show “indefinitely”, causing outrage from free speech advocates.
Donald Trump applauded the initial cancellation, writing on his Truth Social platform: “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!!!”
Kimmel himself made no public statements about his show’s cancellation.
Last month, Paramount station CBS cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, after the host referred to a US$16 million settlement between Paramount and Trump as a “big fat bribe” in order to get FCC approval for its merger with Skydance.
After the merger was waved through by the FCC, CBS boss George Cheeks denied Colbert’s ‘bribe’ comments were behind the cancellation of the 32-year-old show, saying, “the challenge in late night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline.
“We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show, unfortunately, the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”
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