I finally canceled ESPN+ over the weekend, and man, it’s a real chore to cancel some of these subscriptions. They don’t make it easy, obviously. Since ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel last week, people have been unsubscribing from Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN+ at a steady clip. Disney’s stock hasn’t tanked completely, but it’s taken a big hit and they’ve lost billions in a matter of days. Reportedly, a lot of Disney adults are canceling their Disney cruises, Disney weddings and trips to Disney theme parks. This organic boycott has been pretty successful in the short-term, in my opinion. Consumers have changed the conversation from “bonkers right-wing talking points lionizing a murdered racist/bigot” to “actually, censorship is bad and Jimmy Kimmel has the right to point out political hypocrisy.” So what’s happening on a corporate level, and what’s happening behind-the-scenes? From Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw:
This isn’t how Jimmy Kimmel wanted his show to end. The 57-year-old comedian has spoken openly about the imminent conclusion of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which debuted in 2003. Kimmel was going to end the show on his terms — not this year, but soon.
Donald Trump had other ideas. Trump and his FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, saw the backlash to Kimmel’s comments on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and sensed weakness. They attacked one of the president’s most vocal critics and his employer, threatening to revoke ABC’s broadcast licenses and urging local stations to drop the show. Local stations complied, prompting ABC to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air.
Kimmel’s suspension has became an international news story. Comedians, politicians and even some Republicans have said Carr went too far.
Kimmel and executives from Walt Disney, ABC’s owner, met Thursday to try and hash out their differences, multiple people involved in the situation told me. They remained in touch over the weekend and will meet again early next week, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing such a controversial matter. Disney has also been talking to those local TV broadcasters, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, about carrying the show if it comes back.
Disney wants Kimmel back on the air. But Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and entertainment head Dana Walden have also asked him to tone down his political rhetoric. Kimmel won’t apologize, nor does he want to be muzzled or censored. He also doesn’t want to put 200 employees out of work or give Trump a scalp. The outcome of these negotiations will leave a lasting mark on the legacy of Kimmel, Walden and especially Iger, one of the most respected US business executives.
It’s worth noting that, on a professional level, Kimmel, his team and Disney’s brass have all acted like adults here. This is a serious situation within ABC/Disney, and it seems like everything is being handled respectfully and carefully. I also believe that Kimmel has gotten his lawyers involved, and god knows, Disney has a full legal team as well. They’re all trying to finesse their way out of this situation. I believe Kimmel sees this correctly, and he’s drawn his line in the sand – he’s not going to apologize, nor should he, and whatever happens, it should not look like Disney is capitulating to Trump. Now, do I also believe that consumers should continue to apply pressure? Yes. Artists should as well. Speaking of, artists skipped performing at a Disney-affiliated premiere last night.
New: Sarah MacLachlan, Jewel, and more musicians scheduled to perform at tonight's premiere for Hulu's ABC News doc LILITH FAIR have all pulled out after Disney scrapped the red carpet. First notable talent consequence of the Jimmy Kimmel situation.
— Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) September 22, 2025
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Jimmy Kimmel hosts the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762329065, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: LCY / Avalon
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- Jimmy Kimmel hosts the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762335328, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: LCY / Avalon
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- Host Jimmy Kimmel on stage during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.,Image: 762344491, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Blaine Ohigashi / Avalon
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- Jimmy Kimmel hosts the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855738497, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Bob Iger, Willow Bay arrive on the red carpet of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.,Image: 971235147, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** EDITORIAL USE ONLY! * NB: Fees charged by Avalon are for Avalon’s services only, and do not, nor are they intended to, convey to the user any ownership of Copyright or License in the material. Avalon does not claim any ownership including but not limited to Copyright or License in the attached material. By publishing this material you (the user) expressly agree to indemnify and to hold Avalon and its directors, shareholders and employees harmless from any loss, claims, damages, demands, expenses (including legal fees), or any causes of action or allegation against Avalon arising out of or connected in any way with publication of the material. * Handling Fee Only ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
The Deal Disney wants to sign was worth 6 billion and they lost 3 billion in a few days.
LOL, let them eat sheet, I say. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. Iger should have known better. And Kimmel will NOT agree to be muzzled, as he shouldn’t. Go get ’em Jimmy.
I’ve been too busy to cancel, but I will. They won’t get me back either.
Don’t just cancel the streaming services owned by Disney, contact the other companies owned by them (Lifetime, EPSPN, History Channel, A&E, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, etc) and tell them you’re not watching them anymore, not buying their movie tickets.
Just as important, contact Nexstar and Sinclair and tell them you see them orchestrating censorship, and aiding in government overreach and violation of our freedom of speech. Nexstar – through the ABC affiliates it owns – put pressure on ABC/Disney to cancel Kimmel, to please the FCC because they have a merger deal that needs to be approved by the FCC. Nexstar owns a local channel I grew up with and that I love – I emailed Nexstar and the local station and told them I’m not watching anymore, and that I’m calling businesses I’ve seen advertised on that channel to tell them I’m boycotting them, too. Yes, all this takes time and energy, but I would like my kids to not live in a dictatorship.
Sinclair is the worst. They still have an article on their home page announcing that they think Kimmel and ABC still deserve further government sanction.
https://sbgi.net/sinclair-says-kimmel-suspension-is-not-enough-calls-on-fcc-and-abc-to-take-additional-action/
Could also be a good day to repeatedly call your local ABC Sinclair station and whine about Kimmel not being on air (even if you’ve never watched anything at all on there). Blocking caller id with *67 m/b good.
This is the way.
I checked on several websites this weekend and so many people are cancelling.
Not just Disney plus, but cruises, weddings etc.
It’s also people from outside the US who are supporting by cancelling etc.
Good job all
It wasn’t just about Kimmel. People saw the writing on the wall about media censorship and they weren’t having it.
I don’t think Kimmel should come back if they’re going to muzzle him. That kind of capitulation
is dangerous. It’s the same as him being off air. It’s keep the body but killed the soul.
Of course 200 more people out of work is not a good thing. So he has that to think about.
Yup, I’ve never really watched jimmy kimmel in my life, except for a few clips here and there. If he’s off the air it makes zero difference to me and I wouldn’t have noticed if my local network (its a Sinclair affiliate) dropped him.
But this isnt just about Kimmel like you said – its about the bigger picture of media censorship and first amendment rights. and because trump and Carr can’t keep their mouths shut, everyone knows this is about censorship and the First Amendment. Bringing him back but censoring what he says is pretty much just as bad.
I think also a lot of people are frustrated because if Disney can’t or wont stand up to Trump – then who can? Who will?
So many companies have given in to him and the reality is that while yes there are consequences for not giving in to him, the consequences usually aren’t what trump promises. Costco is doing just fine without sacrificing their DEI initiatives while Target folded almost immediately. The law firms that refused to negotiate with him won in court. Chicago and Pritzker stood up to him and he’s not talking about a military takeover of Chicago anymore (even with ICE still there unfortunately.)
There aren’t that many checks on his administration but this obeying in advance BS is getting old and I think many people are reacting to that.
Yes, this is an issue that energizes people on terms of principle, but also people on terms of self-interest.
Let’s also not forget one of Charlie Kirk’s own preachments:
“You should be allowed to say outrageous things.”
Wonder if eugoogolizer Sinclair will include that quote in their YouTube Kirk eugoogoly. (Sorry, not sorry, rewatched Zoolander.)
I was gearing up to drop some of my other subscriptions and pick up the Hulu/Disney/ESPN package instead.
That’s big old NOPE now.
#FirstAmendmentForKimmel
#Resist
I also saw people saying things like: Let’s read more books again instead of streaming.
Gotta say I’m guilty of that too. I used to read so much, sometimes several books on one day, and now I do way more mindless streaming.
I bought a book I wanted to read for a while and donated some other books so to help give easy access to books to other people.
In my country, it’s a thing to have mini libraries in people’s gardens or somewhere on the street. People put books in there and others can get them for free.
Don’t know if the USA has this, but can recommend looking into it.
If you haven’t done so, call your local affiliate and say you will no longer be watching their broadcasts. Put pressure on the affiliates that aren’t Sinclair owned to stand up against Sinclair
We don’t have any Sinclair stations here in Houston, but Nexstar operates our CW affiliate and the Fox affiliate in Lufkin/Nacogdoches where I’m currently visiting my mother and brother, so I called earlier today and told them I wouldn’t be tuning in while this mess continues. It likely means nothing, but still.
I read that Sinclair’s ABC affiliates pulled a scheduled Charlie Kirk special and put on Celebrity Family Feud instead. This is a super interesting situation. I’ve been railing about the erosion of freedom of speech for years until my friends are like “Can you just stop talking about freedom of speech.”
This is interesting because the “GOPers” I know were Cheshire grinning and accolading the tributes that would air. I didn’t know some pulled it. But I tuned out from this Dante’s Inferno.
Yes, I think it ended up on YouTube.
Nope, never stop. Your friends will understand. I told 2 friends this morning to cancel their Disney-owned subscriptions, and to call our local station owned by Nexstar to tell them they’re not watching anymore. We all have to do what little we can.
I won’t. I’m happy being a pest about this.
I don’t know how his ratings were, but it was a crappy way to get rid of him. Personally, I never watched his show because I thought he was a jerk from way back when he was on The Man Show.
He’s definitely evolved since those “Man Show” days (I loathed that show).
I actually liked his late-night show. I didn’t watch it regularly but when I did, I enjoyed it (we’re Colbert watchers). Kimmel has emerged as a good guy.
It really is appalling that Disney suspended him in this way. If we lose the right to free speech, that’s the whole ballgame.
I hope you understand that ratings had nothing to do with Kimmel being taken off the air.
This was censorship pure and simple.
Ratings were fine. “In the second quarter of 2025, the show averaged 220,000 adults aged 18 to 49, marking a slight increase over the previous quarter. Despite the decline, Kimmel’s show has maintained a strong presence in the late-night television landscape, particularly in the 18-49 demographic. The show’s engagement score is 16.45, indicating a level of audience interest and activity across various platforms.”
What I find interesting with this whole Kimmel episode-my friend posted something that Luke Bryan said enough is enough or whatever. I was very disappointed with him, basically he blamed Kimmel. Another friend said what exactly did Kimmel say that was bad. 1st friend came back with we can agree to disagree…this went on for 4 posts, same things being said until 1st friend said read what Kimmel said. So my friend posted verbatim what he said and asked again-what did he say that was so bad. She was told we can agree to disagree. There was never a response from her. They do not know! Post is now deleted but I think it is because she could not say. Kimmel should stand his ground. He said nothing wrong!
Cancelled my Disney+ subscription with a comment why.
I like the idea of putting that money over to PBS passport instead.
Our local ABC affiliates are Hearst owned, haven’t heard of them going the Sinclair route, yet at least.
Getting Passport through my local PBS station membership is the best money I’ve ever spent.
MAGA keeps saying Jimmy said something terrible about Charlie. But they never say what. That’s because he only talked about Trump and how he went golfing and to the baseball game while supposedly mourning Charlie. The day after Charlie’s death, Trump was already bragging about the White House’s new ballroom.
The only person Kimmel attacked was snowflake Trump.
I don’t care about the celebrity kimmel’s job nor his show specifically but I do care about free speech. Hopefully the ones being given the message get the right message or they can just fafo again.