Indivisibles,
The Trump regime’s campaign of authoritarian repression took a major step
forward this week with the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
Like a third-rate mob boss, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Chair issued a public threat to “take action” against stations
airing Jimmy Kimmel for a joke that offended the regime. His actual words:
“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”
Within hours, ABC/Disney execs (specifically, CEO Bob Iger) chose what
they thought was the easy way. They silenced Kimmel because they believe
caving to authoritarian censorship is best for their bottom line. It’s on
us to prove them wrong and show there’s a price to sacrificing our First
Amendment rights at the altar of corporate profit.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the greed, corruption, and cowardice at
play here -- and then let’s get to work protecting our First Amendment
rights. That means boycotts, protests, and demands of our representatives.
More on that below.
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The state of play
Trump and his cronies are rapidly working to consolidate power and use the
full might of the federal government to squash peaceful dissent -- bending
media companies, business leaders, universities, and so many other
institutions to Trump’s will.
Silencing Kimmel is just one example of how our institutions are putting
their own shortsighted self-interest first and choosing to give in to
fascism instead of fighting back. Here’s a brief review of how we got
here:
* December 2024: ABC/Disney caves to a frivolous defamation lawsuit by
Trump, paying $15 million to his presidential library rather than
going to court to defend the freedom of the press.
* July 17: CBS announces that it will cancel the late-night show of
Trump critic Stephen Colbert. The move comes as CBS’ parent company,
Paramount, awaits FCC approval of an $8 billion merger.
* July 18: Trump takes to Truth Social to post that “Jimmy Kimmel is
next.”
* July 24: The FCC approves Paramount’s merger just one week after
Colbert’s cancellation.
* September 10: Charlie Kirk is murdered. Trump administration officials
and other Republican leaders begin calling for a massive crackdown on
the left.
* September 15: In his show’s opening monologue, Kimmel notes that Trump
and his allies are “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."
* September 17 (morning): In an interview on a far-right podcast, FCC
Chair Brendan Carr openly threatens to revoke the broadcast license of
any stations airing Kimmel’s show.
* September 17 (afternoon): Within hours of Carr’s threat, Nexstar Media
Group -- a TV conglomerate that (like Paramount) wants FCC approval of
a merger -- says its local ABC affiliates will not air Kimmel's show.
Another TV conglomerate with FCC business pending, Sinclair Media
Group, rapidly follows suit.
* September 17 (evening): ABC/Disney announce that they are pulling
Kimmel's show off the air entirely.
Appeasing a tyrant only leads to more tyranny. If ABC/Disney refuses to
reverse their decision, the regime will only become more emboldened to
target comedy, opinion, and even news they don’t like. None of us will be
free to dissent. None of us will be able to speak our minds.
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How we’ll fight back
We need to pressure ABC/Disney to reinstate Kimmel’s program, cease their
political collusion with Trump and his FCC lapdogs, and commit to
defending free speech.
That means fighting back with our voices and our wallets -- because no
wannabe king can match the power we wield when millions of us take action
together. Here are some things you can do right now:
Cancel your Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ subscriptions until Jimmy Kimmel
❌ Live! is reinstated. Then, [ [link removed] ]use the customizable sample posts in
our social toolkit (or create your own!) to let Disney and your
network know with the hashtag #BoycottDisneyABC.
[ [link removed] ]Use this contact form to send a message to ABC/Disney that we
won’t stand for cowardice and corruption. If you’re canceling Disney
💬 services, postponing a vacation to a Disney theme park, or taking
some other action in response to their corporate cravenness, let them
know.
[ [link removed] ]Email your representative to demand an investigation into
government censorship. Carr’s threats may violate the First Amendment
🔥 and other federal law, but an attempt to subpoena Carr is being
blocked. Let’s turn the heat up to demand that Carr, ABC/Disney
execs, and their partners be hauled before Congress to testify under
oath.
Protest in person. We’ve already heard of dozens of locally led
📣 events popping up outside ABC/Disney offices and studios across the
country. Get out to one if you can, and [ [link removed] ]make a plan to join us on
No Kings Day, as well.
We’re working with partners nationwide to plan additional actions that
push ABC/Disney towards putting free speech over the whims of a wannabe
king. We’ll share those as they develop, but for now, let’s use our
voices, our dollars, and our people-power to show Disney that they’re
standing on the wrong side of history.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
P.S. Boycotts like this one are most effective when we move swiftly and
uniformly to take our business elsewhere. Please take a moment to cancel
that subscription right now, and then forward this email to other folks,
especially Disney+/Hulu subscribers, who may join our efforts.
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