{"id":152717,"date":"2025-09-18T13:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/152717\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T13:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:33:07","slug":"comedians-writers-and-celebrities-react-to-jimmy-kimmels-suspension-at-abc-what-is-happening-to-our-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/152717\/","title":{"rendered":"Comedians, writers and celebrities react to Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s suspension at ABC. \u2018What is happening to our country?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

News that ABC<\/a> had suspended Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely<\/a> from \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!<\/a>\u201d moved like a tidal wave of alarm and dismay across social media Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

As people announced that they were canceling<\/a> their Hulu<\/a> and Disney+<\/a> subscriptions in response to the decision, celebrities, TV writers and comedians condemned the silencing of Kimmel. Some issued calls to organize against the network\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

Many of Kimmel\u2019s comedy peers called the decision to cut his show censorship, symptomatic of creeping fascism that had suddenly creeped ever closer, or authoritarianism that was already here. <\/p>\n

ABC suspended Kimmel because of comments he made on the show in the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk<\/a>. The late-night host criticized Republican reactions to the political identity of Tyler Robinson<\/a>, who is charged with killing him. <\/p>\n

Actor-comedian Wanda Sykes<\/a> was booked as a guest on Kimmel\u2019s show before the ABC decision was announced. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m in a full face of makeup because I was supposed to go over and have a chat with my friend Jimmy Kimmel on his show, but as you have heard by now, the Jimmy Kimmel show has been pulled indefinitely, abruptly, because of the complaints from the Trump administration<\/a>,\u201d Sykes said. \u201cSo let\u2019s see. (President Donald Trump<\/a>) didn\u2019t end the Ukraine War or solve Gaza within his first week. But he did end freedom of speech within his first year. Hey, for those of you who pray, now\u2019s the time to do it. Love you, Jimmy.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jean Smart<\/a> just won her third Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for playing Deborah Vance on the HBO Max series \u201cHacks.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the show\u2019s most recent season, Vance is both a veteran comedian and a new late-night talk show host. <\/p>\n

Smart posted a photo she took with Kimmel in sharing her response to his suspension on Instagram. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am horrified at the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech. People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda. Though I didn\u2019t agree at ALL with Charlie Kirk; his shooting death sickened me; and should have sickened any decent human being. What is happening to our country?\u201d<\/p>\n

Comedian Mike Birbiglia<\/a> posted a handwritten note about free speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent a lot of time in public and private defending comedians I don\u2019t agree with,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re a comedian and you don\u2019t call out the insanity of pulling Kimmel off the air \u2014 don\u2019t bother spouting off about free speech anymore.” <\/p>\n

Kathy Griffin<\/a> pointed to the power of people\u2019s wallets to make them heard about the loss of free speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, take it from me, it is very important to have Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s back right now,<\/a>\u201d Griffin<\/a> said on Threads. \u201cBe vocal. Be an ideological consumer. Money<\/a> is all their crowd cares about.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kimmel\u2019s suspension was announced just two days after he made the comments about the response to Kirk\u2019s death on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d Monday and three days after the 77th Emmys, where the late-night show was nominated for outstanding talk series. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing anything they can to score political points from it,\u201d Kimmel said on the show. <\/p>\n

He then cued up footage of a reporter asking Trump how he was holding up while mourning Charlie Kirk. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think very good,\u201d Trump said, quickly pivoting to talk about the construction of a ballroom at the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be a beauty,\u201d the president said. <\/p>\n

Later, Trump<\/a>, reacting to Kimmel\u2019s suspension while abroad in the United Kingdom, called it \u201cgreat news for America<\/a>.\u201c He went on to label Kimmel\u2019s fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon<\/a> and Seth Meyers<\/a> \u201ctwo total losers,\u201d calling for their ouster at NBC as he had Kimmel\u2019s at ABC.<\/p>\n

The ABC decision arrives in a TV landscape of major money movements<\/a>, as Variety and other outlets have reported. <\/p>\n

Disney suspended Kimmel after Nexstar Media<\/a>, which owns TV stations across the country, criticized Kimmel for his comments, saying that its stations carrying Kimmel\u2019s show would be airing other programming instead of the late-night fixture. <\/p>\n

Nexstar, which owns 32 ABC stations, is looking to acquire Tegna<\/a>, another company that owns TV stations, for $6.2 billion<\/a>. Such a deal would require the approval of the Federal Communications Commission. <\/p>\n

Kimmel\u2019s suspension came hours after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr<\/a> railed against ABC for Kimmel\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way<\/a>,\u201d Carr said on a podcast<\/a> with Benny Johnson, per Variety. \u201cThese companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there\u2019s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc Maron<\/a>, actor-comedian, podcasting giant and New Jersey native, pointed to all of these connections in a video on Instagram (watch below). <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s happening,\u201d Maron said. \u201cJimmy Kimmel has been muzzled and taken off the air by his network ABC, who are buckling to and trying to appease the Nexstar media conglomerate who have a lot of affiliates, and they threatened to preempt him at the suggestion of the FCC chair. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is government censorship,\u201d Maron continued. This is the Trump administration coming after people who speak out against him. This is the end of it. If you have any concern or belief in real freedom or the Constitution and free speech, this is it. This is the deciding moment. This is what authoritarianism looks like right now. It\u2019s happening. So if you\u2019re a free speech warrior, or you really talk the talk about protecting free speech, this isn\u2019t about saying the R word or the T word or any of that. This is government censorship. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t f—ing Twitter,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis isn\u2019t people getting canceled because of a cultural pile-on. This is the United States government silencing voices that they disagree with. FCC Chair Carr put this out. This is his directive. This is the U.S. government. Look, if they can come for Kimmel, they can come for anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maron urged people to \u201cpush back\u201d \u2014 \u201cbecause if this goes, it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to act,\u201d he said in the caption of his post. \u201cOrganize, speak out, be peaceful, be urgent. It\u2019s happening very fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Kimmel talked about Kirk on 9\/11 \u2014 a day after he was killed \u2014 he called his death a \u201csenseless murder<\/a>,\u201d one that has \u201camplified our anger, our differences<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parallels have been drawn between Kimmel\u2019s \u201cindefinite\u201d ouster and CBS\u2019 July decision to end Stephen Colbert\u2019s \u201cLate Show\u201d<\/a> next year. (\u201cThe Late Show\u201d just won its first Emmy for outstanding variety talk series<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Colbert, who lives in Montclair, had criticized CBS parent company Paramount\u2019s $16 million settlement with Trump<\/a> over the president\u2019s claims about the editing of a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. (\u201cAs someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended and I don\u2019t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company,\u201d Colbert said on the show. \u201cBut just takin\u2019 a stab at it, I\u2019d say $16 million would help.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Not long after Colbert made those criticisms on \u201cThe Late Show,\u201d he was announcing the show\u2019s impending exit<\/a>. <\/p>\n

CBS denied the decision had anything to do with Paramount\u2019s then in-progress merger with the company Skydance<\/a>, which also had to be approved by the FCC<\/a> (and was indeed approved). <\/p>\n

The Writers Guild of America also put out a statement in response to Kimmel\u2019s suspension and the removal of his show from the ABC lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other \u2014 to disturb, even \u2014 is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people,” the union said. \u201cIt is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of government power, not by acts of corporate cowardice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn\u2019t have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to \u2014 painful as it may be at times \u2014 is the freeing agreement to disagree.”<\/p>\n

New Jersey comedian Chris Gethard<\/a>, who grew up in West Orange, shared an Instagram post drawing a line from Colbert and Kimmel to NPR, PBS and the Kennedy Center<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re coming for the arts,\u201d the image read.<\/p>\n

W. Kamau Bell<\/a>, a comedian and TV host (CNN\u2019s \u201cUnited Shades of America\u201d), also talked about Colbert and Kimmel. <\/p>\n

\u201cWho knew that rich white men would be the canary in the coal mine of American capitalism?\u201d he said in a video on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few weeks ago, they got rid of Stephen Colbert, today they suspended Jimmy Kimmel. They\u2019re lettin\u2019 us know, they ain\u2019t scared of none of us. None. Of. Us. It\u2019s time to come together, y\u2019all. Strength in numbers.\u201d <\/p>\n

Actor David Krumholtz<\/a>, another New Jersey resident, also shared his thoughts on Kimmel\u2019s forced exit.<\/p>\n

\u201cMAGA is more marketable<\/a> now,\u201d Krumholtz said on Threads. \u201cAt the end of the day, the corporations that own media companies are afraid of losing viewership (money) and so MAGA is now being leaned into, rather than shied away from. The new normal is wildly abnormal. Upside down country\u2026. Diversity & Inclusion in tv and films is about to take a massive step backwards. And we have no say,\u2026 we grin and we bear it?<\/p>\n

\u201cA re-routing of culture\u2026 to pad the bottom line, an opaque line of zero ethical priorities\u2026 entertainment is now speaking complete gibberish for money, erasure of liberal art\u2026 our free speech comes at a cost to corporations<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

The Screen Actors Guild<\/a> condemned Kimmel\u2019s suspension.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur society depends on freedom of expression,\u201d the labor union said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cSuppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues of public concern run counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on.\u201d <\/p>\n

SAG called the suspension of Kimmel and the show \u201cthe type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone\u2019s freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

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