Greater than 400 Hollywood stars cosigned a letter revealed by the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday condemning ABC’s resolution to droop Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! over on-air feedback Jimmy Kimmel made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.

The open letter was signed by a few of Hollywood’s greatest names, together with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Hours after it was revealed, Disney, which owns ABC, introduced that the present will return to the air on Tuesday.

“We the individuals mustn’t ever settle for authorities threats to our freedom of speech,” their letter begins. “Efforts by leaders to stress artists, journalists, and firms with retaliation for his or her speech strike on the coronary heart of what it means to stay in a free nation.”

The choice to take Kimmel off the air, which got here after the Federal Communications Fee Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to punish ABC and its guardian firm Disney over the remarks, was “a darkish second for freedom of speech in our nation,” the letter states.

“In an try to silence its critics, our authorities has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, speak present hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers throughout the board,” the letter states. “We all know this second is larger than us and our trade. Academics, authorities staff, regulation corporations, researchers, universities, college students and so many extra are additionally going through direct assaults on their freedom of expression.”

It provides: “No matter our political affiliation, or whether or not we have interaction in politics or not, all of us love our nation. We additionally share the idea that our voices ought to by no means be silenced by these in energy — as a result of if it occurs to considered one of us, it occurs to all of us. That is the second to defend free speech throughout our nation.”

How we bought right here

It comes lower than per week after ABC introduced that it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! off the air “indefinitely” after Carr criticized feedback Kimmel had made earlier this week in regards to the motives of Kirk’s alleged killer.

Throughout his monologue on Sept. 15, Kimmel mentioned that President Trump’s supporters have been making an attempt to “rating political factors” by portraying Kirk’s accused killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, as a left-wing radical, and urged Robinson was “considered one of them.”

“It is a very, very critical problem proper now for Disney,” Carr mentioned on a right-wing podcast earlier than the suspension was introduced. “We are able to do that the simple approach or the laborious approach. These corporations can discover methods to take motion on Kimmel or there’s going to be extra work for the FCC forward.” Nexstar, a significant operator of ABC-affiliated stations, mentioned it might not broadcast Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! “for the foreseeable future.”

Sinclair, the most important operator of ABC associates, mentioned in an announcement that it might not carry the suspension “till formal discussions are held with ABC relating to the community’s dedication to professionalism and accountability.” It additionally known as for Kimmel to make a “direct apology” and “significant private donation” to the Kirk household and Turning Level USA, the conservative youth group Kirk cofounded.

In its assertion saying Kimmel’s return, Disney mentioned that it “made the choice to droop manufacturing on the present to keep away from additional inflaming a tense state of affairs at an emotional second for our nation.”

“It’s a resolution we made as a result of we felt a number of the feedback have been ill-timed and thus insensitive,” Disney mentioned. “We now have spent the final days having considerate conversations with Jimmy, and after these conversations, we reached the choice to return the present on Tuesday.”

Folks have been boycotting Disney in protest

Critics of ABC’s resolution had been been calling for a boycott in opposition to Disney, together with some actors and administrators featured in Disney exhibits and films.

Tatiana Maslany, star of Marvel’s She-Hulk: Lawyer at Legislation, which aired on Disney+, urged her Instagram followers to “cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!”

Damon Lindelof, the creator of Misplaced, expressed his solidarity with Kimmel and mentioned that if his suspension shouldn’t be lifted, “I can’t in good conscience work for the corporate that imposed it.”

Marisa Tomei, who starred in Disney’s Avengers, reposted a name to “unsubscribe and boycott” Disney platforms.

The hashtags #BoycottDisney and #BoycottABCNetwork continued to pattern on-line over the weekend, with individuals posting screengrabs of their canceled subscriptions to social media.

Howard Stern and Ted Cruz agree: U.S. authorities shouldn’t become involved

Howard Stern, Sirius XM radio host and Kimmel’s pal, mentioned on his present Monday that he additionally deliberate to cancel his subscription to Disney+ to boycott ABC’s guardian firm.

“You may’t assist this sort of a transfer,” Stern mentioned. “I do not care whether or not you want Jimmy or not. It is about freedom of speech. If ABC wished to fireplace Jimmy as a result of they did not like him, or he had low rankings — they did not need to hearth him. They’re being pressured by the US authorities. We won’t have that, not if we’ll have a democracy.”

In the meantime, a number of outstanding Trump supporters, together with Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, and former Fox Information host Tucker Carlson, have spoken out in opposition to the FCC.

“I hate what Jimmy Kimmel mentioned. I’m thrilled that he was fired,” Cruz mentioned on his podcast Friday. “However let me let you know, if the federal government will get within the enterprise of claiming, ‘We don’t like what you, the media, have mentioned, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves when you don’t say what we like’ — that may find yourself dangerous for conservatives.

“I believe it’s unbelievably harmful for presidency to place itself within the place of claiming, ‘We’re going to determine what speech we like and what we don’t,’” Cruz added. “And it’d really feel good proper now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, however when it’s used to silence each conservative in America, we’ll remorse it.”

What was occurring behind the scenes?

CNN reported over the weekend that prime executives at Disney made the choice to drag Kimmel’s present as he was getting ready to ship a monologue addressing the right-wing backlash to his remarks.

“It was then that Disney executives had conversations with Kimmel about ‘taking down the temperature’ of his monologue,” CNN reported. “Nexstar introduced its plan to drag Kimmel’s present on the similar time. That’s when Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Leisure Cochair Dana Walden made the choice to preempt the present indefinitely — in hopes of defending Kimmel and the Disney model from accelerating the controversy.”

In line with CNN, Disney staff and members of the Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! employees had obtained dying threats following Carr’s remarks.

Kimmel himself has not spoken publicly in regards to the suspension or his return to air.

His present contract with ABC runs by way of Might 2026.