Demonstrators condemn CEO Bob Iger and fellow executives for ‘bending the knee’ to Trump administration
The Mickey Mouse logo is all over Walt Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California. But on Thursday, those famous ears were also on display outside the studio on protest signs, including one labeling Disney executives as “cowards” for suspending Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talkshow in response to pressure from the Trump administration.
Disney, which owns ABC, “indefinitely” suspended Kimmel’s show on Wednesday night, following threatening remarks by Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr about possible regulatory consequences for comments Kimmel made about Trump and the Maga movement’s response to Charlie Kirk’s killing.
As many Americans condemned the incident as a blatant government attack on free speech, others attacked Disney and its CEO Bob Iger for what they saw as a swift capitulation to the Trump administration’s demand that they censor a prominent comedian.
As calls grew for boycotts against Disney and other companies involved in removing Kimmel from the air, an estimated 200 to 300 people protested outside Disney’s headquarters in Burbank on Thursday afternoon, in a demonstration that had been promoted by the Hollywood writers’ union, the Writers Guild of America, calling on ABC to “Bring Back Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
