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Washington, D.C. — Today, Andrew O’Neill, Indivisible’s Advocacy Director, released the following statement on Disney’s decision to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s show following nationwide backlash and loss of subscribers:
“Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t reinstated because Disney executives slept on it and had a change of heart. He’s back on air because those executives got a wakeup call from the American public. People all over the country showed up, canceling subscriptions, protesting outside ABC and Disney, Nexstar and more, and made it damn clear this political alliance with Trump was not in Disney’s best interest. Trump’s authoritarian playbook is unpopular, and when these CEOs comply, it’s not only cowardly. It’s unstrategic.
“While we’re glad Kimmel is back on air, the fight doesn’t end here. FCC Chairman Carr still must be hauled up to Congress to testify. Sinclair and Nexstar must commit to airing the program and drop their wild demands. And Bob Iger and Disney must make it clear they are fully opposed to being bullied by Trump and his cronies.
“Kimmel has a show on the air because people nationwide used the power of their wallet and voice. But we’re not done yet. Today it was Jimmy Kimmel – tomorrow it could be any journalist, comedian, or artist who dares to say something Trump doesn’t like. We refuse to accept that as inevitable. Trump wants everyone to think that submitting to his will is the only option – but that is a lie. Defiance is not only available, it is the strategic choice.”
Indivisible’s co-founder and co-executive director Ezra Levin joined Jen Psaki for The Briefing on MSNBC last Friday night to discuss Kimmel’s Firing (video here). He foreshadowed this shift on the show:
“Disney is run by human beings. Some of those human beings are cowards. Those cowards don’t want to be named and shamed, and if you do that effectively, they will shift their behavior.”
Last Friday, Indivisible also launched the ‘Cancel Fascism: Reinstate Kimmel’ campaign, driving activist calls, protests, and boycotts of networks:
Indivisible called on its base to:
- Cancel Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ subscriptions until they stop enabling Trump’s authoritarian power grab.
- Engage in peaceful public protest to expose the capitulation of Disney and ABC.
- Call on every member of the Disney and ABC boards, every celebrity with a show on their platforms, and anyone with a voice within those corporations to defend our First Amendment right to free speech against this authoritarian power grab.
The demands of this campaign include:
- Bob Iger reverses his capitulation and issues a public apology.
- ABC and Disney reinstate Kimmel on his program.
- ABC and Disney commit to standing up for first amendment rights in the face of authoritarian intimidation.
- ABC and Disney cease their cooperation with Trump and Carr.
- Our elected representatives subpoena Iger, Carr, Sinclair, and Nexstar to get to the bottom of this scheme to trample our first amendment rights.
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The Indivisible Project is a registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit. Our mission is to cultivate and lift up a grassroots movement of local groups to defeat the Trump agenda, elect progressive leaders, and realize bold progressive policies. Across the nation, thousands of local groups are using the Indivisible Guide to hold their members of Congress accountable.