Just hours after Donald Trump’s media regulator issued his threats on a lengthy rightwing podcast, America’s most famous media group sprang into action.
Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, was responding to an on-air comment comedian Jimmy Kimmel made about the political beliefs of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. The threat was plain: the FCC could take regulatory action.
Before the night was done, Disney’s chief Bob Iger offered his response. Disney “indefinitely” suspended Kimmel, one of US television’s best-known hosts.
Kimmel’s comedy has been an enduring fixture of American late-night TV since 2003, when Jimmy Kimmel Live! went on the air, and he has hosted the Oscars four times. Kimmel has skewered Trump in his late-night monologues for years.
During the 2024 Oscars ceremony, Trump attacked Kimmel, writing on Truth Social: “Has there ever been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars.” Kimmel read the post aloud in front of the live global audience, and then asked Trump, “Isn’t it past your jail time?”
At a moment of acute public disquiet about free speech and political discourse in the wake of Kirk’s killing, Disney’s move has only heightened the controversy — and brought fears of an accelerating crackdown by the president on US media that could remake the country’s broadcasting industry.
Free-speech advocates including the American Civil Liberties Union were alarmed. The leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, called it “outrageous”.
Carr appeared on Fox News to celebrate the decision, telling host Sean Hannity: “I’m very glad to see that America’s broadcasters are standing up to serve the interests of their community,” he said, mocking the “foie gras coming out from New York and Hollywood”. This was an “important turning point”, he added.
Trump cheered the move: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” he posted on Truth Social. Later, on a flight back from his state visit to the UK he told reporters that other networks that were “against” him should “maybe” have their licenses removed.
Disney’s Kimmel decision suggests at least some networks are ready to capitulate anyway.
Iger made the call to pull Kimmel off the air along with TV chief Dana Walden after consulting a small group of advisers, according to people familiar with the matter.
The decision followed not just the FCC chair’s backlash, but fury from some affiliate TV stations and viewers.
Carr’s comments set off internal discussions at ABC about how to proceed. Kimmel had planned to address the controversy on his Wednesday evening telecast, but could not agree with executives on next steps, according to people familiar with the matter.
People who know Iger well told the Financial Times they were not surprised by his move.
“In the Iger scheme of things everyone is dispensable. Jimmy Kimmel is really down the food chain, so I’m not at all surprised,” said a person who has worked closely with the Disney chief.
Executives at Disney subsidiary ABC said they were hopeful they could bring Kimmel back on air “soon”, these people said. But it is not certain.
“Bob is a very down the centre guy. More so than people think. People think he’s left of centre, he’s really not,” said another executive who has worked closely with Iger and remains friends with him.
“[Iger] is very sensitive to political drama. He doesn’t want to get ensnared in political drama at all. I’m not shocked he made this move. There was a long period of time where [Disney] were getting involved. He wanted that to stop,” the executive said.
The decision also reflected pressure from within Disney’s commercial orbit — and the FCC’s looming presence over the entire media landscape.
Before the decision, Nexstar, a large owner of local TV stations, had already dropped Kimmel’s show, saying it “strongly object[ed]” to his comments about Kirk.
A person close to Nexstar noted that the TV group was seeking FCC approval for its $6.2bn takeover of rival Tegna. The person added that it was likely that Nexstar’s move to distance itself from Kimmel was motivated by the approval process.
The Kimmel suspension came just under a week after Kirk, a conservative activist and Maga influencer, was shot dead in Utah, prompting widespread condemnation.
Trump officials have vowed to hit “leftist radicals” they claim were responsible. But the crackdown on media is already under way.
The president earlier this week sued The New York Times for $15bn, accusing the newspaper of acting as “a full-throated mouthpiece” for the Democratic party.
CBS earlier this year cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, after the comedian criticised the network’s owner, Paramount, for its decision to settle a defamation suit brought by Trump.
Disney’s ABC News earlier this year agreed to pay $15mn to Trump’s presidential library to settle a lawsuit.
But Carr’s comments on Benny Johnson’s podcast on Wednesday signalled that Trump could use the power of the regulator, not just legal threats, to act next.
“Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said, referring to Kimmel. 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.”
In response, the agency’s sole Democratic commissioner wrote on X that “political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship and control”, and warned that the administration was “increasingly using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression”.
But Disney’s capitulation has also sparked anger.
At a protest outside the company’s New York headquarters on Thursday, demonstrators held signs calling for American media companies to “stop appeasing Trump”.
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Speakers led the group in chants of “Kimmel stays, Trump must go”, and “ABC, grow a spine”.
Dan, a 30-year-old Cuban-American in the entertainment industry said he found the suspension of Kimmel’s show especially “alarming” because of his heritage.
He referred to crackdowns on the media in Venezuela under the late leader Hugo Chávez and President Nicolás Maduro, and in Cuba under the Castro regime. “Once the media has the same person behind it, that’s when it gets incredibly alarming.”
Additional reporting from Lauren Fedor in Washington
