The Trump regime’s campaign of authoritarian repression took a major
step forward this week with the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
Like a third-rate mob boss, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Chair issued a public threat to “take action” against stations
airing Jimmy Kimmel for a joke that offended the regime. His actual
words: “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”
Within hours, ABC/Disney execs (specifically, CEO Bob Iger) chose
what they thought was the easy way. They silenced Kimmel because they
believe caving to authoritarian censorship is best for their bottom
line. It’s on us to prove them wrong and show there’s a price to
sacrificing our First Amendment rights at the altar of corporate
profit.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the greed, corruption, and cowardice
at play here -- and then let’s get to work protecting our First
Amendment rights. That means boycotts, protests, and demands of our
representatives. More on that below.
The state of play
Trump and his cronies are rapidly working to consolidate power and
use the full might of the federal government to squash peaceful dissent
-- bending media companies, business leaders, universities, and so many
other institutions to Trump’s will.
Silencing Kimmel is just one example of how our institutions are
putting their own shortsighted self-interest first and choosing to give
in to fascism instead of fighting back. Here’s a brief review of how we
got here:
- December 2024:
ABC/Disney caves to a frivolous defamation lawsuit by Trump, paying $15
million to his presidential library rather than going to court to
defend the freedom of the press.
- July 17:
CBS announces that it will cancel the late-night show of Trump critic
Stephen Colbert. The move comes as CBS’ parent company, Paramount,
awaits FCC approval of an $8 billion merger.
- July 18: Trump takes to Truth Social to post that “Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
- July 24: The FCC approves Paramount’s merger just one week after Colbert’s cancellation.
- September 10:
Charlie Kirk is murdered. Trump administration officials and other
Republican leaders begin calling for a massive crackdown on the left.
- September 15:
In his show’s opening monologue, Kimmel notes that Trump and his allies
are “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."
- September 17 (morning):
In an interview on a far-right podcast, FCC Chair Brendan Carr openly
threatens to revoke the broadcast license of any stations airing
Kimmel’s show.
- September 17 (afternoon): Within
hours of Carr’s threat, Nexstar Media Group -- a TV conglomerate that
(like Paramount) wants FCC approval of a merger -- says its local ABC
affiliates will not air Kimmel's show. Another TV conglomerate with FCC
business pending, Sinclair Media Group, rapidly follows suit.
- September 17 (evening): ABC/Disney announce that they are pulling Kimmel's show off the air entirely.
Appeasing a tyrant only leads to more tyranny. If ABC/Disney refuses
to reverse their decision, the regime will only become more emboldened
to target comedy, opinion, and even news they don’t like. None of us
will be free to dissent. None of us will be able to speak our minds.
How we’ll fight back
We need to pressure ABC/Disney to reinstate Kimmel’s program, cease
their political collusion with Trump and his FCC lapdogs, and commit to
defending free speech.
That means fighting back with our voices and our wallets --
because no wannabe king can match the power we wield when millions of us
take action together. Here are some things you can do right now:
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Cancel your Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ subscriptions until Jimmy Kimmel Live! is reinstated. Then, use the customizable sample posts in our social toolkit (or create your own!) to let Disney and your network know with the hashtag #BoycottDisneyABC. |
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Use this contact form to send a message to ABC/Disney that we won’t stand for cowardice and corruption.
If you’re canceling Disney services, postponing a vacation to a Disney
theme park, or taking some other action in response to their corporate
cravenness, let them know. |
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Email your representative to demand an investigation into government censorship.
Carr’s threats may violate the First Amendment and other federal law,
but an attempt to subpoena Carr is being blocked. Let’s turn the heat up
to demand that Carr, ABC/Disney execs, and their partners be hauled
before Congress to testify under oath. |
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Protest in person.
We’ve already heard of dozens of locally led events popping up outside
ABC/Disney offices and studios across the country. Get out to one if you
can, and make a plan to join us on No Kings Day, as well. |
We’re working with partners nationwide to plan additional actions
that push ABC/Disney towards putting free speech over the whims of a
wannabe king. We’ll share those as they develop, but for now, let’s use
our voices, our dollars, and our people-power to show Disney that
they’re standing on the wrong side of history.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
P.S. Boycotts like this one are most effective when we move swiftly
and uniformly to take our business elsewhere. Please take a moment to
cancel that subscription right now, and then forward this email to other folks, especially Disney+/Hulu subscribers, who may join our efforts.
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