What Does Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension Mean For Free Speech in America? w/ Stephen Hoadley: September 24, 2025

Last week ABC, who is owned by Disney, announced that American Late Night Host Jimmy Kimmel was to be suspended indefinitely after pressure from the FCC and President Donald Trump’s administration, over comments he made related to the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Yesterday, Disney announced that Kimmel would be re-instated, and would continue hosting the show starting today.

This follows news from July, when it was announced that CBS would be ending the The Late Show franchise at the end of this season – currently hosted by Stephen Colbert – after similar pressure from the Trump administration.

After Kimmel’s suspension, reports followed that estimated Disney had lost a reported $3.8 billion USD in market value. Along with this, many actors involved with Disney in the past and present promoted cancellation of Disney Plus subscriptions to their fans through social media, with many hundreds of celebrities, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston and Robert De Niro signing a letter where they backed Kimmel.

To discuss these events and how they impact free speech in the United States, Producer Max spoke to Stephen Hoadley, a retired professor in international relations and editor of a series of books on international human rights.