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Actors, fellow comedians and late-night hosts have voiced support for Jimmy Kimmel in droves after ABC suspended his late-night show last week—some blasting the “dark moment for freedom of speech”—with talk show hosts Andy Cohen and Howard Stern joining the chorus of support Monday.
Within days of ABC suspending Kimmel’s late-night talk show over comments he made on-air about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, celebrities have stood by the host across multiple open letters and social media posts.
Many joined the chorus of support Monday, including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and hundreds of others who signed an open letter published by the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as talk show hosts Andy Cohen and the co-hosts of “The View” on their respective shows.
Kimmel has not yet commented on his show’s suspension.
Andy Cohen said on his SiriusXM radio show Monday he is “very upset by this, and you should be too,” calling Kimmel “one of the great guys of all time” and criticizing President Donald Trump for threatening the broadcast licenses for programs that are “against” him. The co-hosts of “The View” broke their silence about Kimmel on Monday as speculation mounted over whether the hosts of the ABC talk show were told not to discuss the controversy. “No one silences us,” host Whoopi Goldberg said Monday, adding the “government cannot apply pressure to force someone to be silenced.” “The View” co-host Ana Navarro criticized “how the government itself is using its weight and power to bully and scare people into silence,” claiming “this is what dictators and authoritarians do, it does not matter the ideology.” Howard Stern said on his SiriusXM show Kimmel’s cancellation was “horrible" and "outrageous,” stating he would cancel his Disney+ membership to boycott the company. Late night hosts including Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert all backed Kimmel on their respective shows, with Oliver calling out broadcasting company Nexstar, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Disney CEO Bob Iger. Former late night hosts David Letterman and Conan O’Brien also voiced support for Kimmel. “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian, a criminal administration in the Oval Office,” Letterman said Thursday.
Hundreds of stars signed an open letter published by the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday, which criticized Kimmel’s suspension as a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.” Among the signatories are Oscar winners Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Natalie Portman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Robert De Niro, Joaquin Phoenix, Ariana DeBose, Frances McDormand, Regina King and Jane Fonda, as well as singers Olivia Rodrigo and Selena Gomez. Some fellow comedians signed the letter, including Chelsea Handler, Rosie O’Donnell, Rachel Dratch, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Maya Rudolph, Cecily Strong, Ilana Glazer, Billy Eichner and Chelsea Peretti. Other signatories include Jean Smart, Ben Stiller, Sarah Paulson, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Cynthia Nixon, Diego Luna, Kerry Washington, Regina Hall, Alan Cumming, Florence Pugh, Jonathan Groff, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Pedro Pascal.
More than 600 comedians have signed a letter as of Monday that accuses the government of targeting “the basic right every person deserves: to speak freely, question boldly, and laugh loudly.” Signatories include Fallon, Handler, O’Donnell, Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin and David Cross. Some celebrities who work for projects under Disney, including Marvel and other ABC shows, also voiced support, including Marvel star Pedro Pascal, who urged followers in a social media post to “defend free speech.” Other Marvel stars Marisa Tomei and Tatiana Maslany called for a Disney+ boycott on social media. Damon Lindelof, creator of ABC’s “Lost,” said on Instagram he wouldn’t work with ABC again unless Kimmel’s suspension was lifted. Kerry Washington, who has starred in multiple ABC and Hulu shows, stood by Kimmel on Instagram, calling his suspension “unfair” and “unjust.” Jean Smart said in an Instagram post she is “horrified” by Kimmel’s suspension, stating the host was practicing “FREE speech, not hate speech.” Country singer Maren Morris, who once guest-hosted Kimmel’s show, said on Instagram she stands with the late-night host. Comedy actor Henry Winkler praised Kimmel as a “most wonderful fellow” on Instagram, stating his “humor, his insights are important to keep showing us who we are.” Comedian Wanda Sykes accused Trump of ending “freedom of speech within his first year” in office in a video on Instagram.
These Celebrities—Streep, Hanks, Portman, More—Signed An ACLU Open Letter Backing Kimmel (Forbes)Report the details...
ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel ‘Indefinitely’ After Charlie Kirk Comments: Here’s What He Said (Forbes)