Late-night television feels like it’s always been around, from Johnny Carson to David Letterman and all the drama in between. However, now we’re seeing late-night shows as an endangered species, as CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is set to end in May 2026 when his contract expires. But another late-night show was much more abruptly interrupted recently: this week, ABC announced it was indefinitely suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live after pressure from the FCC concerning the host’s monologue about Charlie Kirk.
This has led to a number of Hollywood stars calling for a boycott of Disney, including those who have previously starred in or helped create some of Disney’s biggest projects.
Tatiana Maslany, the star of Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, spoke out against Disney with an Instagram story calling for a boycott of Disney subscriptions. Using a photo from She-Hulk production, she requested her followers cancel Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN subscriptions, all of which are owned by Disney. Pedro Pascal, the poster child of Disney+ Star Wars as the star of The Mandalorian and the upcoming movie The Mandalorian and Grogu, also posted a photo of himself and Kimmel on his Instagram page. “Standing with you @jimmykimmellive Defend #FreeSpeech Defend #DEMOCRACY,” the caption reads.
The outcry wasn’t limited to just one side of the camera. Damon Lindelof, the co-creator of ABC’s hit series Lost and briefly a writer of a prospective Star Wars movie, stated in his own Instagram post how Jimmy Kimmel supported the beginnings of the series. “I was shocked, saddened and infuriated by yesterday’s suspension and look forward to it being lifted soon,” he said. “If it isn’t, I can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it.”
That means as long as this suspension holds, Lindelof won’t bring any new projects to Disney, and, presumedly, Tatiana Maslany won’t return to the MCU as She-Hulk.
Hollywood unions also took to the streets to defend Kimmel’s right to free speech, holding emergency rallies outside Walt Disney Studios. “The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other — to disturb, even — is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people,” the Writers’ Guild of America said in a statement. “It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice,” it noted. “As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent.”
SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, also released a statement condemning the suspension. “SAG-AFTRA condemns the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Our society depends on freedom of expression,” the statement said. “Suppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues of public concern run counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on.”
This all stems from a monologue that Kimmel delivered on his show Monday night, in which he joked about how Trump and his supporters were trying to use the fallout of the assassination of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk to further their own agendas. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said. ABC’s cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live came swiftly after, prompted by pressure from both the FCC and Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the U.S.
Jimmy Kimmel is more than just a host, writer, and actor; he’s an example of how important free speech can be, and voices around Hollywood are seeing this as a canary in a coal mine. Disney may own some of the biggest franchises in entertainment, but that doesn’t mean the company is immune to criticism.