According to The Hollywood Reporter, the following hours after Carr’s comment, affiliate groups Nexstar, which is currently awaiting FCC approval for a planned merger, and Sinclair, informed ABC that they would preempt Kimmel’s show. Although Nexstar later claimed its decision had nothing to do with Carr’s remarks, the timing suggested otherwise. Disney made its own decision moments later to pause the show.

The Entertainment Industry and Politicians on Kimmel’s Suspension 

What ensued were days of discussions between Disney and Kimmel, as debate over the suspension amplified on both sides of the political aisle. According to Deadline, celebrities such as Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep described it as “government threats to our freedom of speech.” Others, including Tatiana Maslany, the star of Marvel’s Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Rosie O’Donnell, urged viewers to cancel their Disney subscriptions. Kimmel’s late-night peers like Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver, as well as former late-night hosts David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Jay Leno, stood with him in this time of his career. 

He also received support from some politicians. California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, “The @GOP does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.” The 44th POTUS, Barack Obama, also weighed in, he said, “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t.” Ted Cruz, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the body that oversees the FCC, warned it was dangerous for the government to silence free speech as it could set a standard, and when Democrats regain the presidency, they could use that precedent to justify silencing conservatives in a similar way, Deadline reports.