As many as 400 celebrities have united to support Jimmy Kimmel and are demanding that Disney bring his show back. Some of the well-known names joining this crusade including Tom Hanks and Jennifer Aniston.
Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jason Bateman and Martin Short are among the members of the Hollywood community who have signed an open letter with the American Civil Liberties Union protesting Disney’s decision to pull late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show off of its shedule and warning of its ramifications on Americans’ right to speak freely…
The list of signatories also includes Ariana DeBose, Jane Fonda, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Regina King, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Diego Luna, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Natalie Portman, among others.
There have also been reports that discussions are still happening behind the scenes between Kimmel and Disney in an attempt to return him to the airwaves. This story is from Saturday.
Jimmy Kimmel and Disney are working toward reaching a compromise that would allow “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to return to ABC.
The veteran host’s business and legal representatives are deep in discussions with Disney and ABC leaders in the hopes of finding a path to a compromise that would allow for the return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” according to three people with knowledge of the situation…
There is no guarantee Kimmel and Disney will come to terms on agreement to return to the airwaves, these people cautioned. Nor is it clear where Kimmel’s mindset stands on what he would and would not accept from ABC as conditions of taking the stage again for “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
And yet, Kimmel’s cousin who is a writer on the show and regularly appears on it suggested Sunday during a podcast that the show may not be coming back. He said he couldn’t reveal too much because it wasn’t his place but did hint that there were more bombshells to come this week.
Sal Iacono, Jimmy Kimmel’s cousin and a long-time writer and performer on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” suggested Sunday that the show may not be coming back on the air after ABC indefinitely suspended the program last week.
On an episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast” late Sunday night, Iacono said he was reluctant to talk about the future of the show out of respect for the staff whose jobs are on the line. But he said significant news could come out this week, and he believed Kimmel will land on his feet no matter what the outcome is.
“I wish I could say anything. There are a couple bombshells still there,” Iacono said. “I’m feeling good. We’re going to be all right. Everything’s going to be just fine.”
To be clear, Iacono didn’t say the show wasn’t coming back, he just suggested he knew too much and needed to stay out of it for now.
As for the big bombshells, I wonder if Disney-ABC ran the numbers and decided to not only fire Kimmel but cancel the show entirely. That’s what Paramount/CBS did when it canceled the Late Show in July (though the show won’t finish its run until next May). From what I’ve seen, the ratings for Kimmel’s ABC show aren’t any better.
Though the broadcast networks don’t disclose specific data about the profitability or expenses of their respective late-night programs, Puck reported that CBS insiders said Colbert’s show was losing upwards of $40 million a year. Data showing declines in viewership as well as ad revenue suggests late-night TV financial woes may be felt at other networks.
LateNighter reported that “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” as well as CBS’s “The Late Show” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Seth Meyers” have seen viewership declines of 70% to 80% since 2015 – the year Kimmel’s show moved to 11:35 p.m.
Nielsen data cited in the outlet’s report showed “Jimmy Kimmel Live’s” share of the key demographic of 18 to 49-year-olds declined from 0.68 in 2013-14 to 0.16 in 2024-25.
It’s possible the Kimmel show has been losing money for a while. That may be why pulling the plug was a relatively easy decision for Disney to make when the controversy broke last week.
The worst case for Kimmel is that he gets fired and can start looking for a new job. He’ll probably land on his feet somewhere since he’s well liked in the industry. But things won’t be as easy for all of the employees of his show if Disney does pull the plug completely.
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