Disney executives to meet with Kimmel, assess show’s future

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(Bloomberg) — Walt Disney Co. executives will meet Thursday with suspended talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel to discuss the future of his program, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The parties will discuss whether there’s a way to return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to the air, according to the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. The soonest the show could return is Sept. 22.

Disney’s ABC network pulled the show Wednesday under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission and local station owners. That followed comments Kimmel made during his Sept. 15 monologue, accusing Republicans of trying to gain political points from the killing of GOP activist Charlie Kirk.

The media giant would like to put the show back on the air, said the people, but that will depend on finding a path forward that satisfies Kimmel, 57, as well as his critics. Disney has told its longtime host it wants to de-escalate the situation, which has resulted in attacks from the White House and death threats to employees.

The company hasn’t asked Kimmel to apologize, nor does Kimmel have any plans to do so, the people said. The comedian has been a vocal critic of Trump for several years.

Comedians have raced to defend Kimmel and criticize Disney.

“You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office,” former late-night host David Letterman said at an event in New York Thursday. “That’s just not how this works.”

Kimmel had planned to address the controversy in his opening monologue Wednesday. The company asked Kimmel to tone down the remarks and strike a more conciliatory tone, said the people. Disney pulled the show after the two sides couldn’t agree on how to proceed.

The suspension has fueled concern about the demise of late-night comedy. CBS announced in July that it would be ending Stephen Colbert’s show, which loses tens of millions of dollars a year. Jimmy Kimmel Live! also loses money, though not as much. Kimmel has hosted the show since 2003.

President Donald Trump and his FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, continued their criticism of Disney and ABC Thursday, with Trump threatening Disney’s license to operate TV stations.