Michael Eisner, the former Disney CEO who exited the company 20 years ago, criticized his former employer — and, implicitly, current chief Bob Iger — over ABC’s suspending Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night show “indefinitely.”
“Where has all the leadership gone?” Eisner wrote in a post on X Friday. “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?”
Eisner continued, “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.’”
Eisner added, “By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.”
Reps for Disney did not respond to a request for comment.
Eisner’s tenure at Disney overlapped just a bit with “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Eisner, who is now 83, was appointed CEO of Disney in 1984 and announced plans to step down from the role in 2004 before officially resigning in September 2005. “Kimmel” debuted in January 2003.
Last year, when Disney was in the midst of Nelson Peltz proxy fight to gain seats on the board, Eisner gave his full support to Iger. In March 2024, Eisner said, “Bringing in someone who doesn’t have experience in the company or the industry to disrupt Bob [Iger] and his eventual successor is playing not only with fire but earthquakes and hurricanes as well. The company is now in excellent hands and Disney shareholders should vote for the Disney slate.”
variety.com
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