UPDATE: On Monday, Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to the air on Tuesday.
Artists and actors are beginning to organize on behalf of Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s indefinite suspension from ABC due to comments the host made about the murder of Charlie Kirk. As of Monday, more than 400 actors and creatives, including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Selena Gomez, have signed an open letter published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), decrying the “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”
Kimmel’s removal from the airwaves came after the comedian and late-night host discussed Kirk’s alleged murderer, Tyler Robinson, in his monologue last Monday evening. “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,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.” Kimmel went on to criticize President Donald Trump’s response to a reporter’s question regarding how he was doing after Kirk’s death: Trump barely answered the query, instead discussing the building of a new White House ballroom. “He’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction,” Kimmel joked. “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Two days later, FCC chair and Trump appointee Brendan Carr threatened Kimmel and ABC, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, while appearing on right-wing commentator Benny Johnson’s podcast, The Benny Show. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way…. This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” That same Wednesday, ABC announced that Kimmel and his long-running late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, had been suspended “indefinitely.”
Now, with the backing of hundreds of celebrities, such as Natalie Portman, Alyssa Milano, and Annette Bening, the ACLU has delivered a message supporting Kimmel and defending free speech. “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,” reads the letter. “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.”
The signees of the open letter represent a diverse cross section of the entertainment industry, including movie stars, Oscar winners, comedians, and theater professionals, as well as former and current Disney employees. Actor Kevin Bacon, as well as couple Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, signed the letter, as did close friends of Kimmel’s, such as Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, and Bateman’s wife, Amanda Anka, who often share Sunday night dinners with Kimmel at Aniston’s home.
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