"Jimmy Kimmel could have saved his job with a simple apology for his tone-and he still could. Instead, he seems determined to continue to mix the murder and the MAGA in his monologues. The Hollywood trades are reporting that many people, from Disney corporate to ABC affiliates around the country, were begging Jimmy to apologize, as viewership and advertising were plummeting, and he just wouldn't listen."
"President Trump's threats to suspend the licenses of any broadcasters who allow criticism of his administration, along with his meritless multibillion-dollar lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, are an ominous cloud over freedom of expression and democracy. But the latest programming move by Disney should not just be seen as cowardly submission to an autocrat's abuse of authority."
"Disney is coming under fire from critics on both sides of the aisle, with critics on the left outraged that they pulled their face of light-night TV off the air "indefinitely," and critics on the right are outraged that Kimmel mocked Trump's mourning of Charlie Kirk's killing while seemingly mischaracterizing the politics of the alleged assassin. Funerals are not funny and responsible broadcasters always separate murder from mirth."
Jimmy Kimmel refused to apologize for his tone and continued to blend references to a murder with MAGA themes in his monologues. Executives from Disney corporate to ABC affiliates urged Kimmel to apologize as viewership and advertising plummeted, but Kimmel declined. Disney CEO Bob Iger worried about lasting damage to the Disney brand regardless of executives' political positions. President Trump threatened to suspend licenses of broadcasters criticizing his administration and filed meritless multibillion-dollar lawsuits against major newspapers, creating a threat to free expression. Disney pulled Kimmel's show indefinitely, drawing criticism from both left and right, while Iger seeks a middle course.
Read at Fortune
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