‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ pulled off air sparking strong reactions
Protesters gathered outside the El Capitan Entertainment Center after ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air over his Charlie Kirk comments.
Jimmy Kimmel’s temporary ousting from late-night TV drew ire from hundreds of Hollywood stars.
Over 400 celebrities, including Oscar-winning actors and chart-topping pop stars, endorsed an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union in support of Kimmel after his suspension from ABC following comments he made regarding Charlie Kirk’s death and President Donald Trump‘s reaction to the fatal shooting.
In a shocking turn of events, The Walt Disney Company, ABC’s parent company, announced in a statement on Monday, Sept. 22, that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will resume production and return to the airwaves on Tuesday, Sept. 23. “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 said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Still, conversations will likely continue over what led ABC to put a pause on Kimmel’s show following pressure from Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
ACLU says ‘government officials can never silence us’ after Jimmy Kimmel suspension
In a statement on its official website, the ACLU wrote that Kimmel was “taken off the air after our government threatened a private company with retaliation for Kimmel’s remarks,” calling it a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
The statement continued: “The ACLU has partnered with hundreds of creatives, artists and journalists to send a message that government officials can never silence us.”
Some of the famous faces who’ve signed the letter include “Friends” alum Jennifer Aniston, “Only Murders in the Building” star Selena Gomez and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo.
“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech,” the letter reads. “Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.”
Additionally, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rosie O’Donnell and Kirsten Dunst joined the chorus of support for Kimmel. (For the full list of celebrity signees, head over to the ACLU website.)
Before the ACLU’s open letter, several stars had publicly rallied around Kimmel after his long-running talk show was pulled off the air following his remarks on the death of Kirk, who was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
Many of Kimmel’s peers in TV and radio, including Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Howard Stern, denounced the host’s suspension as “horrible” and “blatant censorship.”
Kimmel has not publicly commented since the show suspension. USA TODAY has reached out to Kimmel’s representative and ABC for further comment.
Read the ACLU open letter on Jimmy Kimmel suspension
“We, the people, must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.
“Last week, Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after the government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation. In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk-show hosts, artists, creatives and entertainers across the board. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon and our constitution guarantees.
“We know this moment is bigger than us and our industry. Teachers, government employees, law firms, researchers, universities, students and so many more are also facing direct attacks on their freedom of expression.
“Regardless of our political affiliation or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power — because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.
“This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.”
Why did Kimmel say?
Kimmel, who has hosted ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for over 20 years, was sidelined by the network on Sept. 17 after his show was placed on an indefinite hiatus over comments he made during his Sept. 15 monologue.
The Emmy-winning comedian and television personality said the following: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
“In between the finger-pointing, there was, uh, grieving on Friday − the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this,” the host added.
FCC chairman Carr revealed during a subsequent appearance on YouTube commentator Benny Johnson’s show on Sept. 17 that there were “calls for Kimmel to be fired.” Following Carr’s comments, Nexstar Media Group Inc. and ABC announced that they were pulling the host’s show off the air.
In an about-face, The Walt Disney Company announced on Monday, Sept. 22, that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return to the airwaves after “having thoughtful conversations” with Kimmel.
“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 said in the statement to USA TODAY. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”
Contributing: Pamela Avila, Bryan Alexander and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usatoday.com ’
