On September 17th, ABC decided to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “indefinitely.” ABC’s parent company Nexstar Media Group Inc. confirmed Kimmel’s comments on the death of Charlie Kirk were the reason for the cancellation.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner has now commented on this decision, in a way we didn’t have on our bingo cards.
“Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment? The “suspending indefinitely” of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC’s aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation,” Eisner posted on X. “Maybe the Constitution should have said, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.” By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.”
The threat that Eisner refers to also came on September 17th when FCC chair Brendan Carr gave an interview advising they take “action” with Kimmel. Failing to do so would make the network and its affiliates the target of “additional work for the FCC ahead.” Adding “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Since Disney is another parent company to ABC, Eisner’s comments are pretty clearly directed at current CEO Bob Iger, who he supported as his successor. Neither Iger nor Disney have addressed Eisner’s comments.
What Did Kimmel Say?
On September 15th, Kimmel gave the typical late night talk show opening monologue. Five days after polarizing right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed during a debate at Utah Valley University.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” he said.
Initially Kirk and Donald Trump’s supporters tried to paint the shooter as a left-wing extremist and trans. Since then Tyler Robinson, a CIS man, has been arrested and charged with Kirk’s murder. While his politics are still unclear, it seems that he may have been conservative for a large portion of his life.
You can watch the full monologue below:
