Michael Eisner Accuses Disney of Caving to Political Threats After Kimmel Show Pulled
Michael Eisner, the man who led Disney through its renaissance era as its former CEO, is now publicly condemning the company he once ran for what he sees as a dangerous act of capitulation—the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after political threats from Washington.
Eisner, 83, spent 21 years at the helm of Disney, from 1984 to 2005, transforming it into the media powerhouse it is today. But on Thursday, he took to X to criticize Disney executives, saying corporate America has a duty to defend free expression even when political winds turn hostile.
“Where has all the leadership gone? 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?”
Although Eisner did not name names, it was Bob Iger, Disney’s current CEO at age 74, who signed off on Kimmel’s suspension alongside Dana Walden, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment and the executive with direct oversight of ABC.
The decision came just days after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcasting license following comments Kimmel made about Republican reactions to the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel’s show was pulled on Wednesday, only two days after he accused the MAGA movement of scrambling to spin the tragedy for political gain.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
Carr, however, accused Kimmel of spreading “intentional misinformation” about the alleged killer’s political motives, a claim critics say was baseless.
Eisner, who once endorsed Iger’s return to Disney after Bob Chapek’s short-lived and rocky tenure, appeared stunned by what he viewed as a surrender to coercion.
“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 wrote.
“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.’ By the way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.”
The backlash over Kimmel’s removal has been swift and loud. Celebrities, including Jason Bateman and Mark Ruffalo, have criticized Disney’s decision. At the same time, former and current late-night hosts, including David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Seth Meyers, have all condemned what they see as corporate cowardice. Even former President Barack Obama weighed in, reminding Americans of the constitutional protections for speech, even unpopular speech.
Sports commentator Dan Le Batard, the former ESPN host, didn’t mince words either. On his show, he compared Disney’s move to state-controlled media, accusing Iger of bowing to political threats at the expense of journalistic freedom.
“Seeing Jimmy Kimmel not have the protection of something as powerful as Disney because corporate interests in media are filled with such cowardice that you have a situation where not even Bob Iger has the money or the power to stand up to the threat that is presently upon the shores of everyone in media because of how compromised they are by a series of mergers and money interests,” he said on his Thursday show.
“And to see Bob Iger show this kind of cowardice and bend the knee again, again with Trump, not the first time, because what happens here is once you’re a coward who’s extorted, the bully is going to keep extorting the coward.”
This marks a dramatic break in the usually polite relationship between Eisner and Iger. Until now, Eisner had publicly supported his successor, even backing Iger’s return to Disney leadership in 2024 after the turbulent Chapek era. That era of civility appears to be over as the company faces mounting criticism for prioritizing political expediency over free expression.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
