Donald Trump paid tribute to Charlie Kirk at the right-wing activist’s memorial service yesterday, posthumously awarding Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom and using his speech to take aim at his political opponents.
Amid concerns that Trump and his base were politicising the death of Kirk, the US President doubled down and took the time to slam the backlash against the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live during the service in Glendale’s State Farm Stadium.
Trump said that one key difference between him and Kirk was that Kirk “did not hate his opponents”.
“He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie,” said Trump, adding: “I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them.”
As alarming as these comments are coming from the Leader of the “Free” World, they are not surprising coming from Trump, who has repeatedly gloated over the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s show for comments the late-night host made about Kirk’s assassination.
During his show, Kimmel criticized what he called the “MAGA gang” for “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
FCC Chair Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and hinted at regulatory action against the network and Disney, warning “we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.”
Trump described Kimmel’s suspension as “great news for America” and went on to criticise other hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, calling them “two total losers” and called for them to be next on the chopping block.
Since Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled from the ABC network, a huge number of prominent creative voices have condemned the decision, with many voicing concerns over the endangerment of free speech and the proliferation of government censorship in Trump’s America.
Celebrities and fellow talk show hosts have taken a stand, denouncing the suspension as an attack on First Amendment Rights. Part of the outcry has led many to boycott Disney, who acquired ABC in 1996 – and also owns Fox Entertainment, ESPN, National Geographic, FX and Hulu.
Indeed, many are cancelling their Disney subscriptions to show support for Kimmel. According to ITM, as of 21 September, Disney’s stock has dropped more than 2 per cent – an estimated $4.4 billion – since dismissing Kimmel.
That number seems to be on course to increase, as social media users are urging their followers to cancel their subscriptions – with #CancelDisneyPlus trending on X.
Disney also owns flagship IPs like Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar – which is why it’s significant that several Marvel stars have also spoken out against the House of Mouse, with some endorsing a boycott of the studio and its subsidiaries.
Mark Ruffalo, who has played Bruce Banner / Hulk in the MCU since 2012, shared a report indicating Disney’s stock had dropped by 7 per cent following Kimmel’s suspension.
“It’s going to go down a lot further if they cancel his show,” noted Ruffalo. “Disney does not want to be the ones that broke America.”
The ubiquitous Pedro Pascal, who recently starred as Mister Fantastic in this year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps and is rumoured to have a prominent role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, took to Instagram to write: “Standing with you Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He added: “Defend free speech” and “defend democracy.”
Marisa Tomei, who played Aunt May opposite Tom Holland in the Spider-Man franchise, reposted a call to “unsubscribe and boycott” platforms under the Walt Disney Company umbrella, while Tatiana Maslany, who plays She-Hulk, urged her Instagram followers to “cancel your Disney+, Hulu, ESPN subscriptions!”
Joining these Marvel-affiliated creatives are Andor writer Dan Gilroy, who wrote a guest column in Deadline denouncing a “venomous evil” and governmental “siege”, and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who condemned the move to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a signal of poor leadership at Disney.
“Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment?” Eisner wrote on X.
Elsewhere, Damon Lindelof, the creator of ABC’s Lost, showed his support for Kimmel on Instagram, writing that he was “shocked, saddened and infuriated” by the news. The Emmy-winning showrunner has a long-standing relationship with ABC and said that if the suspension isn’t lifted, he “can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it.”
Pressure continues to mount on Disney as a statement signed by more than 600 celebrities is also making the rounds.
It reads: “It’s a dark time for comedians and, by extension, for all Americans. Every culture needs humor. It’s how we heal and how we connect with each other. Take it away, and what’s left is fear, silence, and a bleak existence.”
“When the government targets one of us, they target all of us,” the statement continues. “They strike at the heart of our shared humanity. They strip away the basic right every person deserves: to speak freely, question boldly, and laugh loudly. This double standard – where those in power can criticize and ridicule without consequence, but silence those who do the same in return – is an outrage. It’s unlawful.”
While there is still the possibility that Disney and Jimmy Kimmel may sign an agreement leading to Jimmy Kimmel Live! returning to the air, growing calls for boycott of the company’s platforms could create a significant financial loss – not to mention further tanking the group’s reputation.
Considering Trump continues to use the apparatus of the federal government to pressure companies to reshape the media landscape, now is the time for mdeia companies to heed advice from former President Barack Obama, who wrote in the wake of Kimmel’s cancellation: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.”
He added: “This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”