The "indefinite suspension" turned out to last less than a week.
When media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company announced the indefinite suspension of its late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, potentially due to pressure from government figures on September 17, 2025, the company became the subject of mounting backlash on an international scale.
The move was seen by critics as detrimental to free speech in the country and has caused calls for a boycott of Disney products. Now, the fear of further harm to its reputation and finances may have contributed to the the company's recently-announced reinstatement of the talk show.
Background Of The Broadcast
Following the assassination of American right-wing political activist and media personality Charlie Kirk, the circumstances and motives of the murder were widely-discussed. After initially issuing his condolences and condemning the violence in the September 11 broadcast of his show, regular critic of right-wing politics Kimmel referenced the speculation regarding the killer's motives as such on September 15:
"[...] the MAGA gang [is] 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."
On September 16, following reports on Kimmel's comments by right-wing media outlets, political figures and influencers associated with current US president Donald Trump (those who Kimmel referred to as "the MAGA gang") began expressing outrage at the comment, claiming that it was indicative of the talk show host spreading misinformation about the killing.
On September 17, Trump-appointed head of the US-American Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr appeared on a right-wing podcast to threaten action against The Walt Disney Company, its subsidiary American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ABC-affiliated stations if the companies were not willing to reprimand Kimmel:
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead." - FCC Chairman Brendan Carr
Cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Despite Carr's Federal Communications Commission (shortened to FCC) not actually having the power to punish broadcasting companies for spreading what he alledged to be "misinformation" – especially not within the realm of political satire like Jimmy Kimmel Live! – Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that they would pull the show from all of their ABC-affiliated stations just hours later, making its continuation financially unviable for Disney.
"We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr's remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks." - Sinclair Vice Chairman Jason Smith
The FCC is, however, responsable for approving large-scale corporate acquisitions and mergers in the media industry and with Nexstar, Sinclair and Disney all currently planning to expand in exactly this manner, multiple analysts suggested that the move – and the subsequent orders by Disney CEO Bob Iger to put the show on indefinite hold – may have been intended to appease the Trump administration and its FCC to ensure that they would approve the purchases.
"Great News for America: The ratings challenged[sic] Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible." - US President Donald Trump
Notably, Jimmy Kimmel had criticized Trump and his government on multiple occassions during the show, partly explaining why the US president signalled his satisfaction with the show's cancellation, as well as referring to the previous cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in July 2025. Colbert had also been a regular critic of Trump, with the show's owner Paramount currently in the process of seeking FCC approval for a corporate merger.
Backlash Against Disney
Despite denying direct involvement in Disney's decision, Trump and Carr – apparently emboldened by the success – respectively went on to demand the cancellation of further Trump-critical late nights shows as well as threatening actions against ABC's talk show The View. Others, however, felt far more negative about the cancellation.
Many entertainers, including actors working for Disney like Pedro Pascal condemned the company for its cancellation of Kimmel's show, with even Trump supporters like Candace Owens characterizing it as an attack on free speech. Multiple organizations and public figures called for a boycott of Disney products, with Google searches on how to cancel subscriptions of certain Disney services spiking after September 18. Investors took notice, and on September 20 it was reported that Disney's market value dropped by $3.87 billion overnight.
It can be assumed that the potential financial and reputational damage were responsable for Disney's decision to announce on September 22, 2025 that Kimmel's suspension would be lifted, with the show returning on September 23. Kimmel himself has stated that he sees no need to apologize for his statements, but does intend of clarifying them in future broadcasts. Nexstar and Sinclair are currently still negotiating with ABC.
"Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show [...]. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday." - official statement by The Walt Disney Company
But what do you think? Did Disney make the right call by reinstating Jimmy Kimmel Live? Or is the company just setting itself up for more trouble? Let us know in the comments!