Disney’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show represents a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation,” more than 400 Hollywood celebrities wrote in an open letter released by the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday.
“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech,” the letter says. “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.”
The stars who signed the letter include Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep and Kerry Washington.
The ACLU released the letter five days after the Disney-owned broadcast network ABC announced it was “indefinitely” pre-empting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” amid criticism of Kimmel’s on-air remarks about the Make America Great Again movement’s response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
ABC pulled the show hours after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, who regulates the broadcast television industry, publicly blasted Kimmel and threatened to revoke licenses from ABC affiliate stations. Nexstar, an owner of ABC affiliate stations across the United States, then announced it would pre-empt Kimmel’s show “for the foreseeable future.”
The firestorm has thrust Disney into a roiling debate over free speech. Democrats, First Amendment advocates and Kimmel’s defenders have since assailed Disney and ABC for appearing to cave to pressure from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump, who appointed Carr as head of the FCC at the start of his second term, hailed ABC’s move as “Great News for America.”
“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,” the Hollywood stars wrote in the ACLU’s open letter. “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,” the celebrities added. “Teachers, government employees, law firms, researchers, universities, students and so many more are also facing direct attacks on their freedom of expression.”
In the wake of Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, teachers and professors across the U.S. have been fired or disciplined over social media posts about the Turning Point USA co-founder that were deemed inappropriate. Vice President JD Vance has encouraged people to report those who celebrate Kirk’s death to their employers.
“This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation,” the stars added. “We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.”
The letter did not make a specific demand of Disney. In response to Disney’s decision to suspend Kimmel, some in Hollywood have threatened to cut ties with the media conglomerate or urged viewers to opt out of Disney products.
“Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof said he would not work with the company unless Kimmel’s suspension was lifted. (“Lost” aired on ABC for six seasons.) Tatiana Maslany, star of the Disney+ series “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” called on her social media followers to “cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!” (Disney owns Hulu and ESPN.)
The boycott calls appeared to be growing online Monday, with scores of Reddit users pledging to nix their Disney streaming subscriptions. “It’s the only thing they will notice,” the title of the original Reddit post said.
The ACLU released the letter shortly after Disney debuted a teaser trailer for the Star Wars movie “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which is set to premiere in theaters next year. Pedro Pascal, who portrays the Mandalorian on the big and small screens, signed the letter and publicly backed Kimmel on Instagram.
“Standing with you @jimmykimmellive Defend #FreeSpeech Defend #DEMOCRACY,” Pascal wrote.
The fate of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” remained unclear Monday morning. The show has been on ABC since 2003, airing more than 3,500 episodes across 23 broadcast seasons. In recent years, Kimmel has positioned himself as a vocal critic of Trump and Republican politicians. Trump has slammed Kimmel, too, referring to him a “loser” and calling on ABC to cancel his show.
In a monologue last week, Kimmel expressed condolences to the Kirk family but criticized Republicans for their reaction to his killing. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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,” he said.
Authorities have charged the suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, with murder. Officials said Robinson grew up in a conservative household in Utah but later became influenced by “leftist ideology.”
Robinson’s mother told investigators that “over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left — becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” according to charging documents.
In an interview last week with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Carr said Kimmel’s remarks were part of a “concerted effort to lie to the American people.”
