Jimmy Kimmel could have saved his job with a simple apology for his tone—and he still could. Instead, he seems determined to continue to mix the murder and the MAGA in his monologues.
Disney is coming under fire from critics on both sides of the aisle, with critics on the left outraged that they pulled their face of light-night TV off the air “indefinitely,” and critics on the right are outraged that Kimmel mocked Trump’s mourning of Charlie Kirk’s killing while seemingly mischaracterizing the politics of the alleged assassin. Funerals are not funny and responsible broadcasters always separate murder from mirth.
Amidst a storm of outrage from both sides, we strongly believe that Iger is navigating a wise middle course, even if he isn’t getting much credit for it. The master builder of the brand, Walt Disney himself, would have done the same in a heartbeat.
Critics are waxing nostalgic for the edgy and outrageous comments of social critic humorists such as Dick Gregory, Mort Sahl, George Carlin, and Don Imus, forgetting that none of those figures were ever the host of a broadcast network TV show. There were other outlets for them then and thousands more platforms for such free expression today. Guaranteed First Amendment legal rights in the town square are different from a private enterprise exercising editorial judgment on taste, respect and morality.
Rather, this is merely one more reflection of how Iger has long sought to position Disney as a family-friendly, classic Americana brand with appeal across all sides while eschewing blatantly divisive programming.
As huge fans of Jimmy Kimmel’s humor and political edge, citing examples almost weekly in classes and other forums, we acknowledge at the same time that what he said was wrong and insensitive. There is no dispute on that, even from Kimmel’s strongest defenders.
Given Kimmel’s own self-inflicted errors, there should be no doubt that at a minimum, he needs to apologize and demonstrate genuine remorse. Thiswould present a pathway for him to return to the air, perhaps as soon as the next few days. Nobody deserves to be “canceled” and with hard lessons learned, second chances should be in order. But if Kimmel refuses to show contrition, then perhaps broadcast TV is no longer the right platform for him and he can become one of the 20,000 Substack authors writing for each other. It is unfortunate that, so far, he has refused that opportunity to restore his position and his bold brilliant voice.
Conversely, there should be no doubt that if Trump persists in using Kirk’s murder to justify retaliation against political rivals, the consequences for our country are dangerous.
Iger has been a fearless, equal opportunity offender in defending Disney’s corporate character, whether from intrusions by the left or by the right. He was criticized harshly from many on the political right when in 2018, he cancelled Rosanne, then ABC’s #1 show, when its star imploded with a cruel racial tirade about President Obama’s former top advisor, Valerie Jarrett.
Iger saw no humor consistent with Disney’s brand in that episode. Barr’s bigoted character on and offscreen was far from the social satire and self-mocking of Archie Bunker of the 1960s, nor was it the breakthrough drama preaching racial tolerance from the film In the Heat of the Night.
Just as some voices on the political right howled at Iger’s careful navigation of the Disney brand in earlier times, the political left should similarly respect Disney’s values now. Iger is threading the needle by safeguarding Disney’s brand as one that will continue to be guided by decency and respect, no matter how overheated political rhetoric becomes at times—on both sides.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
