This combination of photos show celebrities, top row from left, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Robert De Niro, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, bottom row from left, Nathan Lane, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Florence Pugh, Meryl Streep and Kerry Washington. (AP Photo)
Hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars – including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep – are urging Americans “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights” in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. More than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names to an open letter Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union that argues it is “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.” The move comes less than a week after ABC suspended Kimmel’s late-night talk show following comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. After a group of ABC-affiliated stations said they wouldn’t air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The Walt Disney Co. pulled the show Wednesday just before air, prompting a firestorm of debate over free speech. “Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country,” the letter says. “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.” The list of signatories includes newly crowned Emmy-winner Noah Wyle, Oscar-nominated Florence Pugh, comedian David Cross, Tony-winner Kelli O’Hara and veteran actor Molly Ringwald. Pedro Pascal, Billy Crystal, Nathan Lane, Kerry Washington and Kevin Bacon also signed. “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,” the letter concludes. Also Monday, ABC’s “The View” weighed in on the controversy after not raising it for two episodes after Kimmel was suspended. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg opened the show saying: “No one silences us” and she and her fellow hosts condemned Disney’s decision. “I don’t understand how in this country, where the First Amendment was made to the Constitution to guarantee freedom of the press and freedom of speech, how the government itself is using its weight and power to bully and scare people into silence,” Ana Navarro said. The show’s most conservative voice, Alyssa Farah Griffin, said: “The First Amendment is the first for a reason, because you need to be able to hold those in power accountable.” Goldberg also explained that the show was initially reluctant to discuss the issue “to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first” and added that “The View” took the same approach when news of the cancellation of CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Since his suspension, Kimmel hasn’t made a public statement. New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said he is pulling out of a town hall held by WABC-TV, a local ABC station, because of Kimmel’s suspension. “I am withdrawing not as an indictment of the local affiliate or the hardworking journalists, but rather in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press,” Mamdani said in a statement.
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