Hundreds of Artists Protest Disney‘s Cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel,Citing “severe Censorship”
LOS ANGELES – Over 400 artists,including Meryl Streep and Robert de Niro,have signed a letter protesting Disney’s decision to cancel Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show,labeling the move as “severe censorship” and a perilous precedent for artistic freedom. The outcry follows kimmel’s abrupt departure and has ignited a wave of support from fellow comedians and public figures, escalating into protests and subscription cancellations.
The cancellation of Kimmel’s program, and the recent suspensions of Stephen Colbert and others, has sparked concerns about increasing pressure on political satire and commentary in the United States. The signatories argue that Disney’s actions represent a chilling effect on free speech, especially as the nation approaches a critical election cycle. The letter condemns what they see as a pattern of silencing dissenting voices and warns of the potential for further erosion of journalistic and artistic independence.
As last week, protests have erupted, with Kimmel’s colleagues – Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, and Colbert – voicing their support with humor and irony. this weekend, Howard Stern and Cynthia Nixon announced they had canceled their Disney+ subscriptions in protest. Demonstrators gathered at Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California, to voice their complaint.
Former presidential candidate Hillary clinton weighed in on Sunday, posting on X (formerly Twitter) that while she had sometimes found comments made about her by Kimmel and other late-night hosts “offensive, even outrageous,” she would never have sought to have them fired.”Because the United States doesn’t work [that way],” she wrote.