Jimmy Kimmel is coming back. It's proof that you still have power | Robert Reich

"ABC says Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to the airwaves next Tuesday less than a week after Trump's henchman Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, said on a podcast that Kimmel's remarks were part of a concerted effort to lie to the American people. Carr threatened that the FCC could do this the easy way or the hard way suggesting that either ABC and its parent company, Walt Disney, must remove Kimmel or the regulator would have additional work to do."

"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. But now, apparently, all is well. 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."

"At least five entertainment industry unions, with at least 400,000 workers, spoke out, with the screenwriters' union charging Disney with corporate cowardice. Celebrities Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep called out government threats to our freedom of speech. Kimmel was supported by his late-night peers including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver, all of whom blasted Disney and ABC with rapier-like humor."

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return next Tuesday after ABC suspended production following FCC chair Brendan Carr's podcast threat suggesting regulatory action unless ABC or parent Walt Disney removed Kimmel. Disney initially characterized the suspension as intended to avoid inflaming a tense, emotional moment and called some comments ill-timed and insensitive, then said thoughtful conversations with Jimmy led to the decision to resume. The suspension provoked intense backlash: at least five entertainment unions representing about 400,000 workers protested, the screenwriters' union accused Disney of corporate cowardice, celebrities condemned government threats to free speech, and late-night peers and Jon Stewart sharply criticized Disney.

Read at www.theguardian.com