Disney gets what it deserves amid Kimmel cancellation

ABC's parent company is learning a quick lesson in accountability.

If ABC’s executives thought that their decision to capitulate to Trump by canceling Jimmy Kimmel’s program would pass quietly by, they’re being taught a quick lesson to the contrary. A massive movement to boycott the company and its properties has emerged, including at the hands of actors who themselves star in Disney properties. Tatiana Maslany, star of Marvel’s She Hulk: Attorney at Law, posted on Instagram urging her followers to cancel their subscriptions to Disney services. Damon Lindelof, creator of Lost and The Leftovers, threatened to stop working with ABC. Rosie O’Donnell called for a boycott of the network. Transparent star Amy Landecker posted an image of the cancellation page from her Disney+ account. Hundreds of members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild descended on Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California to protest the move and show solidarity with Kimmel.

It’s not just Hollywood insiders; across the United States, Americans are letting their wallets do the talking. According to Business Insider:

The chatter online has also translated to an increase in people Googling instructions on how to do so, even as many conservatives, including Trump, praised the decision to suspend Kimmel. Search volume for "cancel disney plus" reached hit a 12-month high at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, according to Google Trends, and continues to be elevated. Terms like "boycott disney plus" and "boycott disney" are also listed as break-out searches on Google. Searches for "cancel hulu" also soared, per Google Trends.

The boycott comes amid bipartisan condemnation of the move. Tucker Carlson, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Andrew Schulz, the hosts of the Flagrant podcast, Tim Dillon, Fox News’ Kennedy, and Glenn Greenwald all criticized ABC’s decision to capitulate to Trump and his administration.

And while Trump and FCC deserve the bipartisan scorn they’re receiving, remember that this White House is only effective insofar as their targets allow them to be. ABC did not have to bow down, but they opted to do so anyway. Why? Nexstar Media Group is the largest provider of local news in the country and operates ABC affiliate stations in dozens of markets across the US. Nextstar is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with a company called Tegna. So when the FCC chair came out and expressed his public displeasure with Jimmy Kimmel’s comedy, it became very clear that his goal was to extort ABC— and ABC was perfectly content to capitulate. Becuase God forbid they can’t get their precious merger approved, no matter the cost.

We live in an era of extreme consolidation. Only a handful of companies control the vast majority of media that Americans consume:

The byproduct of such extreme consolidation is that these companies are far too overleveraged and susceptible to extortion by the government if (and when) they require federal approval for anything. These companies may seem too big to fail, when in fact, they’re too big to operate free from interference. The cost of that inevitable and constant capitulation isn’t solely that Jimmy Kimmel’s program is canceled; it’s that we all become less safe, because we all now live in a country where the president feels emboldened to commit more of these acts.

I hope that the rest of our country’s media outlets understand that by capitulating to Trump, they’re not placating him, they’re not satisfying him, they’re simply showing him that that they can be extorted. They’re showing him that if and when he tries to do this again, he’ll be able to do it without a problem. Trump isn’t stopping with Kimmel. Just like he wasn’t stopping with Colbert or ABC News or CBS or the New York Times or 60 Minutes. He is not a good faith negotiating partner. He is looking out for himself, and the moment a “deal” is no longer solely advantageous for him, the terms will change.

I, along with so many others, canceled my Hulu package this weekend. I don’t do this lightly. I live in Los Angeles. I love the entertainment industry. I know that boycotting a major studio like Disney doesn’t just hurt Disney CEO Bob Iger; it hurts the actors and producers and grips and gaffers and PAs who create the art that we export to the rest of the country and the world. But the foundation of this industry is rooted in our right to free speech. And if ABC is going to be complicit in Trump’s effort to curb that right, then that puts the whole industry at risk. Frankly, it puts all of America at risk.

So it’s incumbent on all of us to send a message to ABC that while it may be their prerogative to capitulate to Trump, it’s ours to spend our money where we see fit. They’re not entitled to our cash– and certainly not if they’re going to use it to help Trump on his authoritarian crusade. If ABC only speaks one language - the language of money - then we need to communicate to them in a way they can understand. The only financial risk to these companies cannot be the one at the hands of Trump. Consumers have power, too, so don’t forget to use it.