On Wednesday, September 17, crowds of fans all over the country mourned for the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s renowned late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! Disney, which owns the ABC News network, suspended the show after it “felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive” towards the conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, reported BBC News. However, after discussions between Disney and Kimmel, they have decided to reinstate the show upon reviewing the major consequences that sparked after the initial decision. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is to resume on its usual schedule with Glen Powell as a guest on Tuesday’s show.
In response to the threats coming from the federal TV manager invalidating ABC’s broadcasting license, political disputes were provoked all over the nation. The people argued that this action was a violation of the first amendment: freedom of speech. In the midst of irritated protests, the show’s cancellation did manage to receive active encouragement from President Donald Trump, who even proposed that it may be better for some TV networks to lose their licenses for expressing opposing political viewpoints. According to Economic Times, applauded ABC News for “finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” criticizing Kimmel for being a talk show host with no talent and low ratings in comparison to other shows.
During the one week that Kimmel’s show was discontinued, grave economic devastations followed, particularly regarding Disney’s stock value. Between September 17 and 23, the company’s stock declined by 2.39 percent, a statistic equal to around $4.99 billion in stock market value. Analysts have declared that it was the consumers who caused this effect as many cancelled their subscriptions on Disney+ and Hulu out of protest, believing that the show’s suspension was a sign of censorship. This fallout served as a “reminder that silencing a popular show carries measurable economic risks,” as stated by University of New Haven Professor Susan Campbell in The Economic Times.
World-renowned celebrities rallied behind Kimmel as 400 journalists, actors, and artists executed an open letter that criticized what they described as government threats that coerced Disney and ABC News to dismiss his show. The participants included Jennifer Aniston, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Olivia Rodrigo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, America Ferrara, John Legend, Kerry Washington, and many others. Hollywood Unions consisting of 4,000 film and broadcast workers also joined the fight. The public controversy showed that surrendering to governmental pressure would set an incorrect example of freedom of expression in the entertainment field. Among these famous leaders, it was former President Barack Obama’s statement that highly stood out as he described the situation as “precisely the kind of government coercion the First Amendment was designed to prevent”, reported The Economic Times. As a result to all the influences, social media protests exploded with hashtags like #StandWithKimmel and #CancelDisney that influenced others to boycott their subscriptions as well.
To settle the irritation and tension spreading all over the country, Disney decided to reinstate the show. However, not everyone is in agreement because Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest ABC affiliate organization in the US, said on Monday that it would replace Jimmy Kimmel Live! with news broadcasting across its own ABC stations starting from Tuesday. According to BBC News, the company stated, “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
Many fans showed excitement for Kimmel’s show being reinstated, but also fear and irritation as the people are unsure of what further changes may result in the entertainment industry under political pressure.
