Disney ex-CEO criticizes FCC for Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner just publicly condemned the FCC chairman’s “out-of-control intimidation” tactics to get Jimmy Kimmel off the air.

The comedian’s show Jimmy Kimmel Live was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday after Kimmel criticized Republican reactions in the wake of the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during his Monday night show.

Before Kimmel’s suspension, FCC chairman Brendan Carr quickly responded to the host’s remarks while on a conservative podcast: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

After Carr’s podcast appearance, ABC announced it was yanking Kimmel’s program indefinitely without explaining its decision.

“The ‘suspending indefinitely’ of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC’s aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation,” Eisner wrote on X . “Maybe the Constitution should have said, ‘Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.’”

“By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny,” Eisner added.

Fans and Democrats, as well as other comedians, have called the move an attack on free speech, saying they fear critics of the Trump administration and conservatives are being silenced.

“Where has all the leadership gone?” Eisner said in his post. “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?”

Beyond the comments from Carr, Disney faced pressure from station owners Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair to act. The groups, which own ABC stations in more than 60 markets across the country, had threatened to pre-empt the show “for the foreseeable future” because of Kimmel’s remarks.

Trump celebrated the news on social media, and made it clear he would like the two remaining late-night talk show hosts – Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers – taken off the air as well.

The suspension of Kimmel comes on the heels of CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , an action that many feel was tied to Colbert’s criticism of Trump (though Paramount says it was budget related).

— Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Chris Morris contributed to this article.