Michael Eisner, the former Disney CEO who exited the company 20 years ago, criticized the senior leaders of his former employer — and, implicitly, current chief Bob Iger — over ABC’s suspending Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night show “indefinitely.”
“Where has all the leadership gone?” Eisner wrote in a post on X Friday. “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?”
Eisner continued, “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. 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.’”
Eisner added, “By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.”
Reps for Disney did not respond to a request for comment.
ABC on Wednesday said Kimmel’s show was suspended “indefinitely.” The network did not provide a reason, but the announcement came after two big station groups — Nexstar and Sinclair — that collectively operate about 70 ABC affiliates said they were dropping “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” over comments he made on the Sept. 15 show about Charlie Kirk’s killer. Earlier Wednesday, FCC chair Brendan Carr said on a podcast that unless ABC “took action” with respect to Kimmel, the network and its affiliates would be the target of “additional work for the FCC ahead.” Carr warned, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Eisner’s tenure at Disney overlapped just a bit with “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Eisner, who is now 83, was appointed CEO of Disney in 1984 and announced plans to step down from the role in 2004 before officially resigning in September 2005. “Kimmel” debuted in January 2003.
Last year, when Disney was in the midst of Nelson Peltz proxy fight to gain seats on the board, Eisner gave his full support to Iger. In March 2024, Eisner said, “Bringing in someone who doesn’t have experience in the company or the industry to disrupt Bob [Iger] and his eventual successor is playing not only with fire but earthquakes and hurricanes as well. The company is now in excellent hands and Disney shareholders should vote for the Disney slate.”
