Disney faced the consequences of its decision to yank “Jimmy Kimmel Live” as protesters gathered outside Burbank and Mouse House headquarters in New York on Thursday.
The crowd denounced ABC, Disney, Brendan Kerr and chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Kerr launched a chain of events on Wednesday in an interview with a podcast that threatened Disney in another FCC investigation into Kimmel’s recent comments on the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. As many Prostars have observed, Kerr’s actions, which look directly at Trump’s biggest critics, have no precedent for FCC leaders in the committee’s more than 90 years of history.
“All the red lines intersect,” he read the indication of protest outside Burbank’s Disney headquarters. At least 200 people gathered around noon on Alameda Avenue outside Disney’s main entrance. Burbank police looked like this area, but the crowd remained peaceful, even if it was loud. About an hour later, Disney closed the gate to the entrance, allowing protesters to fill the entrance to the crosswalk and driveway. Protesters also gathered outside the ABC office in Hudson Yard and outside the Hollywood Boulevard theatre, where Kimmel usually tapes his late-night show.
Protesters gather outside Burbank’s Disney headquarters to protest ABC’s decision to yank ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’
Michael Buckner
The ABC suddenly pulled Kimmel out of the air on Wednesday amidst the mushroom controversy that began with right-wing media and expanded by Fox News on Tuesday. The conservatives were attacked with Kimmel’s statement that Kirk’s alleged murderer was “one of them,” meaning from a conservative background. Nexstar, the owner of the country’s largest television station, has issued a statement declaring it will pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from 32 ABC stations owned or operated by the company. Shortly afterwards, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns more than three dozen ABC affiliate stations, became aware of asking Kimmel to apologize.
In New York, a group of around 100 protesters gathered in front of ABC’s headquarters. Between the chants “Kimmel is staying, Trump has to go” and “ABC, we have to raise our spine,” New York’s 73rd District Congress member Alex Boaz opposed businesses that made business decisions based on the will of the Trump administration.
“When it comes to screw workers, they’re going to deny healthcare, they have a spine. They know how to get up,” he said. “But when it comes to these fascists, when it comes to these threats (not so). This is unacceptable. We need to make it clear that they have consequences.
“But I don’t want to remove government pressure,” he continued. “I would like to say that rights are, “Companies will make that decision.” That’s not why we’re protesting here.
“It was blatantly non-American from a non-American regime,” he concluded, and the crowd cried out the word “non-American” along with him.
As the event approached the end, a man named Mark from the organization called protesters to focus their anger on Disney CEO Bob Iger in addition to Trump. “Spread the word. We need to make this guy like Donald Trump and everyone else who makes him possible.” He led the crowd with a chant “Kimmel must stay, Iger must go.”
In Hollywood, the crowd cried out “Down with the FCC,” “Bend my knees,” and “Jimmy Kimmel stays. Trump has to go.” “Unless we bow, there is no king,” he reads one sign held by a woman wearing a t-shirt declaring “resistance.”
Protesters gather outside Burbank’s Disney headquarters to protest ABC’s decision to yank ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’
Michael Buckner
More coming
(Michael Buckner contributed to this report.)
