The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show by ABC has led to a wave of cancellations of Disney services, as celebrities and fans called for boycotts of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN.
Disney is the parent company of ABC.
Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon was among the high-profile voices to protest. She wrote on Instagram, "Cancel your subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu & ESPN now."
"I just cancelled my Disney Plus and Hulu subscriptions and they asked me why I hit 'other' and I wrote 'because I believe in the First Amendment, reinstate Jimmy Kimmel'," the actress said.
"Now, my whole family is really gonna miss Abbott Elementary. We are really gonna miss Only Murders in the Building. But you know what? We would miss the First Amendment a whole lot more. Don't go to the theme parks. Don't go on the cruises. Cancel your subscriptions. Now. Now," she added.
Tatiana Maslany, star of Marvel's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which streams on Disney+, also urged fans to cancel subscriptions. The actress shared an Instagram Story image of herself in a motion capture costume for She-Hulk with the text, "cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!"
Comedian Rosie O'Donnell called for a boycott of ABC, Disney, and their advertisers.
Supernatural actor Misha Collins posted on X that he would cancel his Disney+ subscription "indefinitely." Attached was an image of Jimmy Kimmel.
Actor Wil Wheaton encouraged a coordinated protest, posting on BlueSky. "It's pretty easy to cancel your Disney+ subscription, and a coordinated, national day of cancellations would send a very clear message about our values as Americans."
Box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations released a "Protest Playbook" to "Save Jimmy Kimmel," which included:
- Cancel Disney+ and leave feedback citing Jimmy Kimmel's removal.
- Reduce spending on Disney parks, movies, and merchandise.
- Avoid ABC programming to impact ratings.
- Contact advertisers running ads on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to express disapproval.
Social media users also posted photos of their cancelled Disney services, rallying behind the hashtags #CancelDisney and #CancelDisneyPlus.
