Disney executives are in a tough spot right now, racing to calm down Jimmy Kimmel before his late-night show can hit the airwaves again. The whole drama kicked off after Kimmel’s explosive monologue about the tragic death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and it’s snowballed into a major headache for the company.
Sources say top bosses, including CEO Bob Iger and Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden, met with the 57-year-old host late Thursday to smooth things over. They’re desperate to get “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” back on ABC, possibly as early as Monday, but it’s anyone’s guess if they’ll sort it out in time. Bloomberg reports the talks are all about de-escalating the mess, which has sparked death threats and doxxing against show staffers.
Kimmel, who’s been hosting the show since 2003, was spotted Thursday zipping around Los Angeles in his black Audi S8, heading to his lawyer’s office in Century City. He looked cool behind sunglasses, even smirking a bit amid the chaos.
ABC pulled the plug on the show Wednesday, right after Kimmel’s Monday episode where he ripped into Republicans for “trying to score political points” from Kirk’s killing. He wrongly suggested the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah, was a MAGA supporter. That set off a firestorm—FCC Chairman Brendan Carr jumped in, hinting at a review of ABC’s broadcast licenses, while big affiliates like Sinclair and Nexstar threatened to drop the show entirely.
The backlash hit hard. Disney insiders tell Bloomberg they’re prioritizing staff safety after personal info got leaked online. Before the suspension, Kimmel wanted to fire back on Wednesday’s taping, slamming MAGA and Trump officials for twisting his words. But Walden warned it could make things worse, and after chatting with Iger, they yanked the show indefinitely.
Hollywood isn’t staying quiet. David Letterman slammed Disney at a recent event, calling the move spineless and a suck-up to an “authoritarian” administration. “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof said he’d bail if they benched Kimmel, and unions for actors and writers decried it as a scary trend that could force comedians to self-censor.
The show might not rake in profits, but it pulls loyal viewers and is one of Disney’s key late-night assets—especially with CBS set to end Stephen Colbert’s run in 2026. Kimmel was even prepping a live Brooklyn special this month.
President Trump, no fan of Kimmel’s, piled on from Air Force One Thursday, blaming it on “bad ratings and lack of talent.” He even posted on Truth Social, pushing NBC to axe Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers too. Carr backed the affiliates’ threats, saying local stations must “serve the public interest”—and both Sinclair and Nexstar have FCC approvals pending, like Nexstar’s $6.2 billion Tegna deal.
Advertisers are jittery, with some eyeing refunds or pulling spots from ABC. Inside Disney, execs told Kimmel they just want to cool the jets—no apology demanded, and he’s not planning one anyway. The El Capitan studio in Hollywood has beefed up security, and a standards exec posted on Facebook about these “unnerving and surreal times.”
Barack Obama called out Trump for his own “cancel culture,” while a Democratic senator labeled it political censorship. Legal pros warn networks often fold under FCC pressure. As of Friday, ABC’s holding ad slots just in case, but no word yet on Kimmel’s return. Disney and ABC haven’t commented.
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