Damon Lindelof vowed not to work with Disney until “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is back on ABC. Disney-owned ABC decided on Wednesday to “indefinitely” stop Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show in response to backlash over the comments the host made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Lindelof, best known for creating “Lost,” which aired on ABC from 2004 to 2010, said, “I was shocked, saddened, enraged by yesterday’s suspension and looked forward to being lifted up soon.
He wrote a lengthy caption in an Instagram post, “If you’re trying to launch it in my comments, ask yourself if you know the difference between hate speech and joking. I think that’s still the case.”
Kimmel recently fired fire from conservatives in a Monday night monologue after saying that the “Magagang” was trying to portray Kirk’s assassin as “something other than them.”
Disney’s shocking decision to suspend a late-night talk show indefinitely followed the threat of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Kerr to take action against ABC over Kimmel’s remarks. Shortly after Carr’s comment, Nexstar Media, the leading owner of ABC affiliate stations nationwide, said it would pre-empt the broadcast of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for a “foreseeable future” as it “strongly opposes” the host’s comments. Nexstar is currently acquiring rivals with a $6.2 billion bid scrutinized by the FCC
Lindelof, who also created HBO’s “Attendant” and “Zareftover,” was one of the first major names in Hollywood to pledge a Disney boycott in support of Kimmel. Earlier Thursday, “Sorry” filmmaker Boots Riley suggested that the American director’s guild should impose a strike on a project affiliated with Disney.
“The DGA will reverse the decision within a maximum of several hours if no members appear at the ABC/Disney/Hulu/Marvel Show until Kimmel’s decision is reversed,” he wrote in X.
The Hollywood Union, including the American Writers Guild, Thug AFTRA and the American Federation of Musicians, have all published statements in support of Kimmel.
“The right to speak our hearts and to oppose each other, even to get in the way, is at the heart of what it means to be free people,” the WGA wrote in a statement. “It should not be denied, not by violence, not by government power, but by corporate coronavirus acts.”
Sag-Aftra said, “The decision to air “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is a type of restraint and retaliation that puts everyone’s freedom at stake.”
