Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show has still gone through a hellish few weeks, thanks to a blackout and suspension ordered by parent company Disney. This decision followed Kimmel’s inappropriate remarks celebrating the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. As tensions mounted, Disney opted to pause production on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to prevent further escalation in a charged atmosphere.
Kimmel’s statement led to an enormous uproar from the American public. In reaction, more than 400 figures from Hollywood banded together to support him and signed an ACLU-backed open letter in his defense. The letter expressed alarm about free speech within the Doha debates and the broader impact of Kimmel’s suspension. Though this outpouring of support was significant, it didn’t immediately sway Disney to change its decision.
After considering the move for seven months, Disney eventually reinstated Kimmel’s show, after meeting with the Oaxacan-born host. He refused to meet demands to personally give money to fund Kirk’s operation, Turning Point USA.
“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.” – Disney
In its statement, Disney admitted that a number of Kimmel’s remarks were “ill-timed and therefore in poor taste.” Following some frank and very productive discussions with the comedian, the network concluded that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” should come back on Tuesday.
Upon his return, Kimmel delivered a monologue that defended free speech and clarified his statements regarding the killing of Kirk. The audience response to the monologue was overwhelming. In less than 16 hours, it posted on YouTube by Colors, became his most viewed performance, garnering over 15 million views.
Even with the show’s return, many of ABC affiliate stations owned by Sinclair and Nexstar did not air Kimmel’s program that night. This action was taken in the midst of negotiations to approve a $6.2 billion merger between Sinclair and Nexstar. It released the public interest concerns that led to corporate interests regularly shaping broadcasting decisions. After immense blowback, Sinclair and Nexstar played ball and let “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” return.
These recent developments led to a backlash in support of Kimmel’s suspension. This backlash appears to be contributing to a visible spike in cancellation rates for Disney+ and Hulu. A recent report by media tracking firm Antenna found that cancellation rates for both services doubled from August to September.
Calls for a boycott of Disney probably had a major impact on this jump.
“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.” – Disney