When ABC announced plans for Jimmy Kimmel Live! to be indefinitely preempted, there was immediate outcry. Many celebrities came out in support of Kimmel, late-night hosts spoke about the choice on their shows, and protests were held outside Walt Disney Studios by those who believe Disney made the wrong call. Now, it sounds like some inside the company might feel the same way.
How Some Disney Execs Allegedly Feel About The Jimmy Kimmel Situation
Some of Kimmel’s comments regarding the fallout from the killing of Charlie Kirk had led some ABC affiliates to decide not to air his show, which appears to have led to the decision to bench the talk show host. That decision reportedly came from the top, from Disney’s head of television, potential future Disney CEO Dana Walden, and current Disney CEO Bob Iger, but at least one unnamed executive told Deadline there were others who told Iger not to do it, they said…
This is not how we thought Bob [Iger] would handle this. Senior people told him this is not what we should be doing. … It’s such a betrayal.
It’s unclear which senior people may be at odds with Bob Iger on the decision. Even if it’s true that some think Iger made the wrong call, another unnamed source reportedly said that the disappointment in the decision is “in no way widespread,” seeming to indicate that the Kimmel suspension has a lot of differing opinions inside Disney, much as it does on the outside.
Some insiders are reportedly comparing the situation at Disney to the way things went over Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek found himself the subject of employee walkouts due to his lack of response to a Florida law that restricted what Florida public school teachers could teach regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
Meetings About Kimmel Are Reportedly Happening Inside Disney
Whatever the feelings on the initial decision, that part is now done, and it seems the focus is on figuring out what the way forward is going to be. There were reportedly several meetings on Wednesday, both in person and virtual, to discuss how to handle the situation, and those talks are set to pick up again on Friday.
While some early reports claimed Kimmel had been fired, that’s not the case, and it does seem now that the intention is to get Jimmy Kimmel Live back on the air. The question is how to do that in such a way that makes all the parties involved happy, which does seem to be a complicated ask. Another unnamed source indicates the two sides are nowhere near any sort of resolution at this point.
This is very much an ongoing situation. At the moment, new episodes of Jimmy Kimmel's show are not airing on the 2025 TV schedule. As we learn more about the fate of his show and how it impacts television, we'll keep you updated.
