If I’m on the right, I’m very, very unhappy with The House of Mouse right now.
If I’m on the left, I’m relieved, even though I’ve spent the last four days in hysterics—but I’m still butthurt that Disney had the temerity to temporarily suspend a low-rated, bitter comedian who helps me and my cat get through the evening. How could they?
The suspension of “comedian”/ DNC unfunnyman Jimmy Kimmel was handed down by Disney brass following his stunningly ugly remarks in the aftermath of the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk. Kimmel took to the airwaves of his spiteful late-night show to blame right-wingers and MAGA for the despicable shooting, despite the fact that authorities had released an overwhelming amount of evidence showing that the shooter was motivated by far-left ideology.
The suspension came as a welcome surprise to many on the conservative side, because Disney in recent years has shown itself to be utterly beholden to the left and more interested in culture and gender wars than in making quality entertainment. Meanwhile, the Democrats and the media went into a frenzy of rage, tears, and uncontrollable wailing. “It’s government censorship!” they cried, even though it was ABC/Disney who made the call and not the Trump administration. After all, it was Nexstar and Sinclair, two companies that own ABC affiliate stations across the U.S., that expressed extreme displeasure with Kimmel’s toxic ramblings and demanded that something be done.
Donald Trump might not have liked Kimmel’s divisive rhetoric, but he was not involved with Disney’s decision and learned about it while on a state visit to the U.K., according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
So there you have it. Disney surprisingly did the right thing, and while a huge number of leftists were outraged, executives stood tall on Micky's shoulders and showed principle.
Except that it barely lasted a hot minute. News broke Monday that Kimmel will be back on the air Tuesday night, less than a week after the initial brouhaha. It’s a slap in the face to the Kirk family, to half of America (maybe much more), and to decency, and it smacks of an almost incomprehensible cowardice.
Shame: That Didn't Take Long: Jimmy Kimmel Now to Return to ABC
This is what bringing people together looks like to Disney, evidently.
Looking forward to the extended standing ovation Jimmy Kimmel receives when he returns from his week-long exile for lying about a murdered father of two.
— Graham Linehan 🎗️ (@Glinner) September 22, 2025
Like many Americans, I hold (or held, I should say) a special place in my heart for Walt and his creations. I took two of my kids to Florida to Disney World after their 6th-grade graduations, and we did actually experience magic. (Of course, I didn't take my next two for theirs, because Disney had by then become the place for those who want to spend their entire year's salary in one weekend.)
Many of their movies in recent decades were incredible standouts, from "Beauty and the Beast" to "The Lion King" to the Pixar oeuvre. But when was the last time they produced anything near that quality? Where they didn’t have some social justice narrative woodenly interwoven into the plot and taking the fun out of it?
My onetime affection for Disney had been waning for years, but this really takes the cake. They failed on every level—they faceplanted on their progressive buddies (which doesn’t bother me a bit)—but then they turned around and made a mockery of the “principled stand” they just took. Why make the big move of suspending Kimmel, infuriating all your extremist supporters, only to turn around and nuke any remaining affection from your audience of a more conservative bent?
You’ve pissed off everybody and shown no backbone either way. Kimmel may get big ratings Tuesday night, as many will want to watch what happens next in this ongoing soap opera, but like his equally abhorrent late-night host, CBS’ now-cancelled Stephen Colbert, I bet his numbers will soon go straight back into the tank.
Sinclair, at least, is showing that they actually mean what they say, and they are preempting Kimmel until further notice. Good for them.
ABC Affiliate Stations Push Back in the Face of the Network's Cowardice on Kimmel
Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return. pic.twitter.com/beGC6VID2x
— Sinclair, Inc. (@WeAreSinclair) September 22, 2025
I don’t envy Disney and their executives for the position they found themselves in; they were faced with some tough choices. Part of the reason for that, however, is that they have failed to deal with the hard leftward drift that the entertainment behemoth has been on for years—a drift that is at odds with a huge proportion of their audience, who once expected wholesome family entertainment out of the company.
Now we get angry hosts of low-rated shows mocking assassinations and a kids’ cartoon layered with a lesbian subplot. (I’ll always remember standing by the edge of the pool with my [then] little boy, and we’d yell, “To infinity and beyond!” and leap into the water. I sure as heck didn’t need to be explaining "adult" things to him at that time in his life; we just wanted to be Dad and Son.)
Disney failed everyone with this one—the left, the right, the middle, everyone—and I think the scars could last a long, long time.
