'Last Week Tonight' Host John Oliver Blasts Disney Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension: 'Giving The Bully Your Lunch Money...'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) John Oliver is speaking out against ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, delivering a direct appeal to Disney CEO Bob Iger. On the September 21 episode of HBO's Last Week Tonight, Oliver devoted his main story to Kimmel's suspension, calling it a dangerous precedent for free speech.

He described the FCC-driven pretext for the suspension as“laughably weak,” adding,“Kimmel didn't denigrate Charlie Kirk or make light of his killing.”

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with 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,” Kimmel said.

Kirk's death and media fallout

“A person getting shot is tragic and a person getting shot for their ideas is horrifying,” Oliver said. Oliver argued that some are now“willing to weaponize Kirk's death to do things they've been wanting to do for years... all of which brings us back to Jimmy Kimmel.”

Why Kimmel was suspended

Oliver stressed that Kimmel's suspension was not about mocking Kirk.

“Kimmel's first comments after his murder were a post reading... 'On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents, and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence,'” he noted.

Instead, Kimmel's trouble came from a“passing reference” about the shooter's ideology.“Yeah, that was it,” Oliver said, calling the backlash manufactured.

FCC pressure behind the move

Kimmel was suspended after FCC chairman Brendan Carr criticized remarks the late-night host made on September 15 following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel had said the“MAGA gang” was trying to deflect blame and“score political points” from Kirk's death.

Carr accused Kimmel of misleading viewers about the political affiliation of Tyler Robinson, the accused shooter, and warned ABC to take action. Days later, Nexstar Media stopped airing Kimmel's show on its ABC affiliates, and ABC announced an indefinite suspension.

Oliver: 'A turning point for free speech'

Oliver, who was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the night of the remarks, said he did not even notice the comments as controversial.

“The worst thing you can say is that he appears to have been wrong about the shooter's ideology, which, OK,” Oliver said.“But he was also pointing out that many on the right seem desperate to weaponize Kirk's death – an argument that's aged pretty well given, you know, everything that's happened to Kimmel since.”

Calling it a case of government pressure on private companies, Oliver warned:“Kimmel is by no means the first casualty in Trump's attacks on free speech. He's just the latest canary in the coal mine – a mine that, at this point, now seems more dead canary than coal.”

He added,“This does feel like a turning point. If the government can force a network to pull a late-night show off the air, and do so in plain view, it can do a lot worse.”

Appeal to Disney CEO Bob Iger

Oliver urged ABC to“do the right thing” by reinstating Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He also encouraged viewers to cancel Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions in protest.

“They need to stand by Kimmel and his staff,” Oliver said.

Directly addressing Iger, Oliver warned:“Giving the bully your lunch money doesn't make him go away. It just makes him come back hungrier each time. At some point, you are going to have to draw a line. So I'd argue, why not draw it right here?”

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