Over 400 artists — including several who have worked with Disney, like Tom Hanks, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana DeBose, Diego Luna, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Natalie Portman, and Martin Short — have signed an open letter by the American Civil Liberties Union denouncing Disney’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel off the air.
Celebrities Condemn Kimmel’s Cancellation
Disney-owned ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr threatened Disney’s FCC license over a comment Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Nexstar and Sinclair decided to preempt the show before it was suspended.
“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech,” the ACLU letter states. “Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.”
Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a press release, “We now find ourselves in a modern McCarthy era, facing exactly the type of heavy-handed government censorship our Constitution rightfully forbids. The silencing of Jimmy Kimmel and jawboning of media outlets through lawsuits and threats to their licenses evokes dark memories of the 1950s. We must remember, however, that Senator McCarthy was ultimately disgraced and neutralized once Americans mobilized and stood up to him. We must do the same today because, together, our voices are louder and, together, we will fight to be heard.”
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner also condemned Disney’s action.
Read the full text of the letter below.
We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.
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. 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.
We know this moment is bigger than us and our industry. Teachers, government employees, law firms, researchers, universities, students and so many more are also facing direct attacks on their freedom of expression.
Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. 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.
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.
See the full list of signatories on the ACLU website.
Kimmel is reportedly in talks with ABC to return to the air.
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