The return of Jimmy Kimmel to the airwaves was a collective triumph for public sentiment over corporate timidity. It seems that silence could have kept Kimmel off the air indefinitely, as Disney appeared poised to bow to Trump’s demands for the second time.
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In a segment on her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow articulated the background succinctly:
In this current climate, we witnessed protests spanning from Thursday to Sunday, sparked by ABC’s decision to suspend comedian Jimmy Kimmel under pressure from the Trump administration. These protests originated not only in major metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles but also in smaller communities like Yakima, Washington, and Mount Kisco, New York.
Furthermore, Vice President Harris personally condemned this act, calling it a clear abuse of power in a statement released last week.
We heard similar sentiments from former President Obama and Michael Eisner, the ex-CEO of Disney, the parent company of ABC. The unity among comedians was equally striking, with voices like Stephen Colbert calling for the reassessment of decisions made under pressure, implicitly questioning the cowardice exhibited by their networks.
The response was a chorus of outrage from Hollywood figures, musicians, unions, and the ACLU, alongside a wave of Disney+ subscription cancellations. There were strong commitments from creators who vowed never to collaborate with Disney or ABC again if the suspension remained in effect.
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