Calls to Boycott Disney Explode After ABC Submits to FCC Threats by Ousting Jimmy Kimmel

Disney is facing increased boycott calls over its decision to suspend ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel after being threatened by the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Progressive advocacy organization Indivisible on Friday encouraged all supporters to cancel their subscriptions to Disney-owned TV streaming services, such as Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.

Indivisible also recommended that supporters send messages directly to Disney and ABC letting them know their displeasure with their decision to cave under threats from the Trump administration.

"You can... send a message to ABC/Disney that we won’t stand for cowardice and corruption," they said. "If you’re canceling Disney services, postponing a vacation to a Disney theme park, or taking some other action in response to their corporate cravenness, be sure to let them know."

Indivisible is circulating a petition lobbying congressional Democrats to launch an investigation into Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr's pressure campaign to get ABC to take Kimmel off the air.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Thursday filed a motion to to subpoena Carr to testify about his efforts to get Kimmel suspended, although this was voted down by congressional Republicans shortly afterward. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, also said on Thursday that he was opening an investigation into the potential financial aspects of Carr’s pressure campaign on ABC.

50501: The People's Movement echoed Indivisible's call to boycott Disney and shared a document letting supporters know all the ways they could send Disney a message.

While much of 50501's recommendations were similar to Indivisible's, the group also pointed to the role played by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which is ABC's largest affiliate, in pushing to get Kimmel off the air.

"Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group own the largest number of local ABC affiliates," 50501 noted. "Nexstar is currently seeking approval from the FCC for business deals. You know who else is seeking approval, ESPN to buy the NFL Network. In other words these media giants have every incentive to bend the knee to authoritarian pressure coming from the FCC and the administration to get their deals across the finish line."

Progressive organizations weren't the only ones calling out Disney on Friday, as former Disney CEO Michael Eisner took to social media platform X to castigate American business, legal, and academic elites for folding in the face of government pressure.

"Where has all the leadership gone?" he asked rhetorically. "If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the First Amendment?"

He then turned his attention specifically to the Kimmel case.

"The 'suspending indefinitely' of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the chairman of the FCC's aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation," he said. "Maybe the Constitution should have said, 'Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.'"