The sudden removal of renowned celebrity Jimmy Kimmel from the airwaves this week has sent shockwaves through his fan base and the broader late-night television community. This came as a result of criticism from Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), major ABC affiliate station proprietors, and the incumbent President Donald Trump. The chain reactions escalated when Disney and ABC decided to suspend ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ indefinitely in response to a pressure campaign amplified by MAGA-centric media. It is worth noting that Jimmy Kimmel has been an outspoken detester of Trump’s policies and actions.
A significant inciting factor that triggered this uproar was Kimmel’s comments about the recent incident on September 10th involving the untimely demise of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. A spontaneous wave of protests broke out on Thursday, following the announcement of Kimmel’s indefinite hiatus. Although the headcount at these protests was relatively small, the collective sentiment was a conspicuous blend of passion, discontent, and outrage.
The protests, which were held at multiple locations including the Disney headquarters in both Burbank and New York, as well as at Jimmy Kimmel’s Hollywood stage, were marked by visible public discontent. Recent backlash by the FCC chair against ABC and Disney over their handling of the Kimmel situation led to an upsurge in support for the embattled host. Regular viewers and staunch Kimmel devotees alike expressed concerns over what they perceived to be a systematic undermining of societal norms and civil liberties under the current administration.
News about the cancellation of CBS’s ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,’ another popular late-night television show, at the end of this season greatly compounded the public displeasure. Coincidentally, this disappointing news came shortly after a successful ten-year stint by the show. Upon hearing about these developments, Deborah Short, a Hollywood resident and self-proclaimed fan, stepped up to express her support for Kimmel.
In Deborah’s eyes, Kimmel is a victim of circumstance. She strongly maintains, ‘He didn’t say anything wrong. He represents me. If he’s shut down, I’m shut down.’ This sentiment was echoed by dozens of other protestors. The thought of their voices being indirectly silenced through the censuring of Kimmel evoked deep-seated discontent among the public.
Trudi Roth, another vocal supporter, was found among the throng outside Kimmel’s theater on Hollywood Boulevard. She warned of a disturbing trend emerging with the shutdown of ‘Colbert’ and now ‘Kimmel’. She sees it as an alarming testament to the Trump’s regime’s intent to reconfigure the mainstream media landscape. In her view, ‘This is a clear sign of creeping fascism.’
Expressing her concern, she said, ‘First, it was Colbert. Now, it’s Kimmel. Who will be next? Could it be you or me? We cannot afford to sit idle and let it happen.’ Outside the iconic El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, the venue for ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ since 2003, protestors gathered in significant numbers, periodically spilling over into the busy Hollywood Boulevard.
Holding placards expressing their disagreement with Disney, ABC, the FCC, and the TV station group owners responsible for Kimmel’s show being preempted in key markets like Nashville, New Orleans, and Salt Lake City, the protestors voiced their resentment. Kimmel fans and other passionate protestors agreed that the sudden news of the preemption was a wake-up call, many of which believed compelled them to act and voice their concerns.
One such protester, identified as Bobbi, shared her visceral reaction: ‘This morning, I was driving to work, and I felt sick at the thought of our freedom of speech being eroded. As an educator, I witness our values slowly deteriorating before our very eyes.’ Culver City resident, Shammu Meyyappan, echoed these sentiments. ‘The news shocked me. If Jimmy Kimmel, one of the biggest late-night hosts, can be suppressed, who knows who’s next? Kimmel is a moderate and universally liked figure, I never thought ABC would pull him off the air.’
Bret Hembd, a legal practitioner based in Hollywood specializing in whistleblowers’ rights, also warned about the crushing of legal protocols and federal norms since the advent of the Trump administration. He believes the public needs to protest against such political overreaches. ‘For months, we have witnessed the presidential playbook adopting an authoritarian tone, crossing boundaries which were previously respected, infringing upon our freedom of speech and other basic rights,’ Hembd vocalized.
Cassandra Martinez is in agreement with other protestors, expressing the urgent need to leverage the power of protest before it’s too late. She passionately opined, ‘We are losing our rights one by one. If we lose the right to free speech, we could lose everything important to us. That scares me. Therefore, I urge everyone not to give up and continue speaking out while we can.’
Julian Kelly, a resident of L.A.’s Silver Lake neighborhood, was motivated to protest by the FCC’s controversial actions. ‘While I have numerous grievances with the administration, it was the unprecendented move of the FCC chief to publicly target a dissenting voice that brought me here today,’ he proclaimed. Another protestor, Carey Okrand, highlighted his concern over the nation’s direction under Trump. He vowed to fight for democracy, disturbed by actions he views as ‘violating free speech.’
At 72 years old, Okrand claimed to have never witnessed anything of this magnitude in his lifetime. He believes it’s imperative for him to fight back against what he sees as a violation of the nation’s free speech rights. In his own words, ‘I have no choice but to stand up and fight back for my children, for their children.’ Thus, despite not being directly affected, these individuals took to the streets to stand up to what they perceive as a growing threat to their rights.
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