IATSE, the American Federation of Musicians and Directors Guild of America, are speaking out against ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show, calling it part of a “disturbing trend of increasing interference in creative expression.”
The Hollywood unions issued the joint statement after Wednesday’s announcement that Jimmy Kimmel Live! was being preempted indefinitely by ABC after his comments about the Charlie Kirk shooter. The move follows Nexstar, one of the biggest owners of local TV stations in the country, and other station groups saying they would preempt the series for the immediate future.
Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr had also threatened to take action against ABC affiliates in the wake of Kimmel suggesting the Kirk shooting suspect was a MAGA Republican during a monologue earlier this week.
The Hollywood unions said in the joint statement that the move is sure to impact the “livelihoods of thousands of working Americans,” for its attack on free speech.
“The indefinite removal of Jimmy Kimmel Live! under government pressure is not an isolated incident. It is part of a disturbing trend of increasing interference in creative expression. This kind of political pressure on broadcasters and artists chills free speech and threatens the livelihoods of thousands of working Americans,” the statement reads.
“When a private citizen, business or television network bows to government intimidation, it strikes at the heart of our First Amendment rights. Creative artists must be free to do their work without fear that their careers or their family’s livelihoods will be disrupted simply for their opinions,” the statement continues.
The statement follows similar statements from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA and an earlier statement from the American Federation of Musicians alone, in which Tino Gagliardi, the AFM international president called the move “state censorship.”
WGA also said it would also be protesting at the main Disney Gate in Burbank Thursday to protest ABC and tell them to bring back Kimmel.
Here is the full statement:
The indefinite removal of Jimmy Kimmel Live under government pressure is not an isolated incident. It is part of a disturbing trend of increasing interference in creative expression. This kind of political pressure on broadcasters and artists chills free speech and threatens the livelihoods of thousands of working Americans.
When a private citizen, business, or television network bows to government intimidation, it strikes at the heart of our First Amendment rights. Creative artists must be free to do their work without fear that their careers or their family’s livelihoods will be disrupted simply for their opinions.
These cases pull the rug out from under the hardworking American workers behind the scenes who make these productions possible. At a time when America’s film and television industry is still struggling due to globalization and industry contraction, further unnecessary job losses only make a bad situation worse.
Finally, media companies have a responsibility to defend their workers and the integrity of the stories they tell. All broadcasters must stand firm in defense of free expression and the First Amendment, not capitulate to a policy of political appeasement.