The first sign that something was wrong wasn’t an announcement, but a void. While millions of Americans were expecting to see their favorite show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, they were met with a replacement on the network. The host had left. The show was taken off the air, pulled “indefinitely” from ABC’s schedule in a move that sent shockwaves from Hollywood to Wall Street. The trigger was a monologue, a few minutes of biting satire aimed at the recent death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. But the aftermath is now a national firestorm, a flashpoint in an escalating battle over free speech, corporate power, and the very soul of American discourse.
They tried to cancel his show. Instead, they may have ignited one. The decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel from television sent Disney shares down 7%. Now, actor Mark Ruffalo warns that the financial situation will be much worse if the network bows to pressure from Nexstar Media, one of America’s most powerful and conservative TV owners.
Mark Ruffalo sent a blunt warning to Disney about what would likely happen if Jimmy Kimmel Live! is canceled following ABC‘s suspension of the show over Jimmy Kimmel‘s remarks about Charlie Kirk‘s death.
On Saturday, September 20, the icon behind the Hulk in The Avengers took to Threads to share a report that Disney’s stock dropped by 7% after ABC suspended Kimmel’s late-night show.
“It’s going to go down a lot further if they cancel his show,” the 13 Going on 30 alum warned. “Disney does not want to be the ones that broke America.”
Kimmel’s sister, Jill Kimmel, replied, “You’re always on the correct side of history, Mark! Thank you for speaking up!!”
Another Thread user wrote, “No more Marvel movies until they reverse course, right?”
Someone else shared, “I honestly think Disney doesn’t care if it breaks America as long as they keep making money.”
Meanwhile, a different Threads user commented, “Quoting someone’s reason for canceling his Disney+ subscription: ‘You were supposed to fight the Sith not join them!’”
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Another Hulk actor, Tatiana Maslany — the star of Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney — also urged customers to cancel their Disney subscriptions. On her Instagram Stories, Maslany shared a photo of herself in the She-Hulk motion capture costume, urging followers, “Cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!”
ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! came on the heels of pressure from the FCC and affiliate owners following Kimmel’s controversial comments about President Donald Trump‘s response to Kirk’s fatal shooting.
On September 14, Kimmel suggested that the suspect in Kirk’s shooting was a right-wing extremist after the Turning Point USA founder, 31, was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10.
“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,” he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Kimmel also criticized Trump’s response to a question about how the POTUS was holding up after Kirk’s death. “I think very good,” the president, 79. replied. “And by the way, right there, you see all the trucks? They just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House.”
Many other celebrities have spoken out in support of Kimmel in the wake of his show’s suspension, including Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, and more. As of writing, Jimmy Kimmel Live! is still suspended.
