Jimmy Kimmel, who had his late night show suspended indefinitely by Disney-owned ABC in the wake of comments about the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect, Tyler Robinson, is receiving more support from high-profile Hollywood celebrities.
Pedro Pascal, who recently starred in The Fantastic Four: First Steps from Disney and Marvel, took to Instagram on Thursday to write, “Standing with you Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He added, “Defend free speech” and “defend democracy,” sharing the words with a photo that featured the actor with Kimmel during an appearance on the show.
Pascal’s post came on the heels of other Marvel stars taking their support a step further by endorsing a boycott of the studio and its subsidiaries, including platforms that stream their work. Marisa Tomei, who played Aunt May opposite Tom Holland in the Spider-Man franchise (a Marvel property distributed by Sony, though she appears in Disney releases from the Avengers universe), reposted a call to “unsubscribe and boycott” platforms under the Walt Disney Company umbrella, including Marvel, ABC, ESPN, Fox Entertainment, Hulu, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Bamtech Media.
Tatiana Maslany, who starred in the title role of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, a Marvel series that debuted on Disney+, posted a behind-the-scenes photo of herself on set, urging her Instagram followers to “cancel your Disney+, Hulu, ESPN subscriptions!” Mark Ruffalo, who played the Hulk on the big screen, participated in a No Kings online event during which he weighed in. “My industry doesn’t really understand what’s happening right now, but what they do understand is our freedom of speech is being attacked.”
The posts came as protestors took to the streets to show support for Kimmel, both at his Jimmy Kimmel Live! headquarters in Hollywood and outside the Disney gates in Burbank, Calif. The Hollywood Reporter has learned that in addition to a growing petition from MoveOn Civic Action, the organization has commissioned a mobile billboard truck that will be driving around Los Angeles this weekend with stops planned for El Capitan Theatre, Disney and the Prospect Studios. It will feature messages like “we’re with Jimmy and free speech” and “dictators and executive aren’t funny — Jimmy Kimmel is.”
Trucks aside, there’s been other support online, like from Lost creator Damon Lindelof, who had previously been attached to a Star Wars project for Disney and Lucasfilm. He showed his support for Kimmel on Instagram, writing that he was “shocked, saddened and infuriated” by the news that the show had been yanked from the air. And if the suspension isn’t lifted, he “can’t in good conscience work for the company” that imposed it, making Lindelof the first high-profile creator to say that he won’t do business at Disney unless Kimmel gets back in his late night chair.
Longtime ABC and Hulu collaborator Kerry Washington, who starred in Scandal and Little Fires Everywhere and executive-produced Reasonable Doubt, also posted a showing of support for Kimmel on Instagram. “You’ve always supported me, my work and my voice for years, and I’m endlessly grateful for your friendship, partnership, the laughter and encouragement,” she wrote. “Now it’s my turn to stand with and for you.” She called the suspension “not just unfair, it’s unjust.”
A statement, signed by hundreds of comedians including Jimmy Fallon, Chelsea Handler, Rosie O’Donnell, W. Kamau Bell, Margaret Cho and others, is making the rounds while amassing additional signatures. “It’s a dark time for comedians, and by extension, for all Americans,” it reads. “When the government targets one of us, they target us all. They strike at the heart of our shared humanity. They strip away the basic right every person deserves: to speak freely, question boldly and laugh loudly.”
Handler, meanwhile, did more than add her name to the statement. The comedian posted a clip on TikTok confirming that she was due to be a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! yesterday. “As one of a handful of people who’ve hosted a late night show, I think it’s pretty clear that our First Amendment, which is our right to free speech, is in grave danger,” she said before noting Brian Kilmeade’s controversial comments on Fox News — “just kill ‘em” he said in reference to mentally ill homeless people — did not cost him his job. “People have always faced backlash for things that they’ve said, but we’ve just never had the government or government agencies like the FCC leading the charge to silence people before. Well, not since McCarthyism, which is one of the ugliest times in American history.”
ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel’s show came following fiery criticism from Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, an appointee of President Trump, and backlash from Nexstar, which operates more than ABC affiliate networks and, as such, airs Kimmel’s show.