Disney’s Stock Dropped By $4 Billion Overnight Because Of Jimmy Kimmel – And Now He’s Back

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Okay, so Disney just announced that *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* is off the air, indefinitely. It seems like there’s a lot of chatter that the government might have had something to do with it, and honestly, people are *not* happy. It’s blown up internationally – everyone’s giving Disney a ton of heat right now.

Critics worried the decision would limit free speech and sparked a boycott of Disney products. Concerns about damage to the company’s reputation and financial standing likely played a role in their recent decision to bring the talk show back.

Background Of The Broadcast

After the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, there was a lot of discussion about who was responsible and why. Jimmy Kimmel, who often criticized Kirk’s views, initially expressed his sadness and denounced the violence on his show on September 11th. Then, on September 15th, he addressed the rumors surrounding the killer’s motivations, saying:

“[…] the MAGA gang [is] 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.”

After right-wing media reported on comments made by Jimmy Kimmel on September 16th, political figures and influencers who support Donald Trump – whom Kimmel called “the MAGA gang” – started to publicly criticize him. They claimed his comments showed he was spreading false information about the incident.

On September 17th, Brendan Carr, the head of the US Federal Communications Commission who was appointed by Trump, went on a conservative podcast and warned Disney and its broadcasting network, ABC, that they could face consequences if they didn’t discipline Jimmy Kimmel.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” – FCC Chairman Brendan Carr

Cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Carr, didn’t have the legal authority to penalize broadcasters for so-called “misinformation” – particularly for shows using political satire like *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* – Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced they would remove the show from all their ABC stations just hours later. This decision made it financially impossible for Disney to continue producing the program.

“We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.” – Sinclair Vice Chairman Jason Smith

The FCC has the power to approve major media company takeovers and mergers. With Nexstar, Sinclair, and Disney all planning expansions, some experts believe Disney’s decision to pause production on the show was an attempt to gain favor with the Trump administration and the FCC, potentially to ensure approval of their planned purchases.

“Great News for America: The ratings challenged[sic] Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.” – US President Donald Trump

Jimmy Kimmel often used his show to criticize Donald Trump and his administration, which likely explains why Trump expressed satisfaction when the show was cancelled. This also reminded some of the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s *The Late Show* in July 2025, as Colbert was also frequently critical of Trump. Currently, Paramount, the owner of *The Late Show*, is seeking approval from the FCC for a company merger.

Backlash Against Disney

Although they claimed they didn’t directly influence Disney’s decision, Trump and Carr – encouraged by what happened – then asked for other late-night shows that criticized Trump to be cancelled. They also threatened to take action against ABC’s show, *The View*. However, many people reacted negatively to the cancellation.

Numerous performers, including Disney actors like Pedro Pascal, criticized Disney’s decision to cancel Jimmy Kimmel’s show, with even people who support Donald Trump, such as Candace Owens, calling it a restriction of free expression. Several groups and prominent individuals urged a boycott of Disney products, and online searches for how to cancel Disney subscriptions increased significantly after September 18th. This caused concern among investors, and reports showed Disney’s stock value fell by $3.87 billion in a single day on September 20th.

Honestly, it seemed like Disney realized the bad press and potential money lost was getting out of hand, so they announced on September 22, 2025, that they were bringing Kimmel back and the show would be on again September 23rd. Kimmel’s pretty firm on not apologizing, which I respect, but he did say he’ll explain what he said on future episodes. As for the other networks, Nexstar and Sinclair are still trying to work things out with ABC.

“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show […]. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.” – official statement by The Walt Disney Company

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2025-09-24 00:10