Conan O'Brien and Michael Eisner slam ABC, Disney over Jimmy Kimmel suspension for Charlie Kirk monologue

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Conan O'Brien and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner have joined other notable figures criticizing ABC's decision to suspend 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'.

Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC, owned by Disney, after his Monday, September 15 monologue, where he addressed the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and noted that his shooter, Tyler Robinson, was a MAGA supporter.

Conan O'Brien says 'anyone with a conscience knows it's wrong'

Jimmy Kimmel said during his Monday night episode, "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."

After his statement, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr threatened publicly to suspend Kimmel's show.

Though Carr did not follow through with any action, Disney CEO Bob Iger suspended the show and left its future in doubt.

On Friday, September 19, Conan O'Brien took to X and wrote, "The suspension of @jimmykimmel and the promise to silence other Late Night hosts for criticizing the administration should disturb everyone on the Right, Left, and Center. It’s wrong and anyone with a conscience knows it’s wrong."

Similarly, Disney's iconic former CEO Michael Eisner, who ran the Walt Disney Co from 1984 to 2005, shared his thoughts on X.

"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?" he wrote.

Eisner further mentioned, "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.' By the way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny," he concluded.

Other celebs who criticized Jimmy Kimmel's suspension

Apart from O'Brien and Eisner, some other big names also slammed Jimmy Kimmel's suspension following his Monday monologue.

'She-Hulk' actress Tatiana Maslany called for her more than 500k followers on Instagram to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN.

She issued the call in a Thursday, September 18, story posted to her Instagram, featuring a behind-the-scenes picture of the actress in motion capture gear to film 'She-Hulk: Attorney at Law', a Disney+ series.

Similarly, 'Lost' co-creator Damon Lindelof called for Jimmy Kimmel's swift reinstatement and threatened not to work with the Disney-owned network.

He wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday, "I was shocked, saddened, and infuriated by yesterday's suspension and look forward to it being lifted soon. If it isn't, I can't in good conscience work for the company that imposed it."

Meanwhile, Kimmel's fellow late-night hosts Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart also addressed the issue and offered him their support while condemning censorship.

Seth Meyers said in his monologue on Thursday, "I just want to say before we get started here that I've always admired and respected Mr. Trump. I've always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer. And if you've ever seen me say anything negative about him, that's just AI."

'Tonight Show' host Jimmy Fallon took a slightly more lighthearted approach to the situation than Meyers. He expressed support for his fellow late-night Jimmy while also joking about how often they are mistaken for each other.

He said, "This morning I woke up to 100 text messages from my dad saying, 'I'm sorry they cancelled your show. But to be honest with you all, I don't know what's going on, and no one does. But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he's a decent, funny, and loving guy, and I hope he comes back."