Disney executives will meet with suspended talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel to discuss the future of his program according to Bloomberg News (via Reuters)
The parties will reportedly discuss whether there is a way to return “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to the air following Disney-owned ABC pulling the series over comments by the late-night show host about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel’s comments led to a response from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr, who gave a critical response to Kimmel’s monologue during an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson on Wednesday.
NexStar, the largest station group in the country and whom is seeking FCC approval of its merger with Tegna, made the decision to pre-empt the show several hours after that interview with Carr went live.
Nexstar subsequently came under a lot of criticism for what is being perceived as trying to get into Trump-appointed Carr’s good graces. NexStar has issued a statement (via Yahoo) saying the decision to preempt Kimmel’s show was “made unilaterally by the senior executive team at Nexstar, and they had no communication with the FCC or any government agency prior to making that decision”.
Following Nexstar’s pre-emption decision, Sinclair Broadcast Group then informed Disney that it was also dropping Kimmel’s show, with Disney suspending the show indefinitely.
The suspension news has exploded like a bomb and sent shockwave ripples throughout the industry. Former late-night hosting giant David Letterman has weighed in during an appearance at The Atlantic Festival, saying (via Variety):
“This is misery. I feel bad about this. We see where this is all going, correct? It’s managed media. And it’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous. And you can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works. In the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship, sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched. The institution of the president of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show.”
Former U.S. President Barack Obama also weighed in on X, saying:
“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.”
Meanwhile, CNBC reports that U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that the federal government “might revoke the licenses of broadcast television networks that are ‘against’ him”. Specifically, Trump reportedly said:
“I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily, all seven swing states… They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away.”
Organised reponse campaigns are underway with some urging people to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions, and others, like “Lost” creator Damon Lindelof, have stated they will not work for Disney until Jimmy Kimmel is reinstated (via Matt Belloni).
More than 300 people, including members of the writers’ guild, gathered outside of Disney in Burbank to protest ABC‘s decision to indefinitely pull the show, with signs going up saying things like “Even Matt Damon Knows this is F—ed” and “Did you even watch ‘Andor’?”. This story is far from over.
