{"id":592346,"date":"2026-04-28T11:52:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=592346"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:52:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:52:01","slug":"kimmel-forces-abc-to-think-long-and-hard-about-whats-being-broadcast-under-parent-company-disney-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=592346","title":{"rendered":"Kimmel forces ABC to \u2018think long and hard\u2019 about what\u2019s being broadcast under parent company Disney"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

An unapologetic late-night host once again left ABC\u2019s parent company to take the heat as even those tied to the broadcast company asked, \u201cAre these values the ones you want to portray?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDisney has lost its way\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Having previously faced heat for suggesting Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassin was a part of the \u201cMAGA gang,\u201d Jimmy Kimmel stirred up new controversy with a joke prior to the latest attempted assassination of President Donald Trump that First Lady Melania Trump looked like an \u201cexpectant widow.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some characterized the joke as poorly-timed and others saw it as indicative of the pervasive rhetoric<\/a> fomenting violence against conservatives, insiders called on ABC to \u201cthink long and hard\u201d about what was being broadcast under parent company Disney.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government should have zero about who is on air,\u201d an ABC staffer told<\/a> Fox News Digital. \u201cBut if I were the head of a media company\u2013news, sitcoms, whatever\u2013I\u2019d think long and hard about the country I wanted to mirror back to my viewers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The staffer added, \u201cThe \u2018Ted Lasso\u2019 model, where people are fundamentally good and flawed and trying their best to build in their communities? Or the \u2018House of Cards\u2019 model where everyone is cruel, and you get ahead by not caring about anything except your team and its power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likewise, counting himself \u201cembarrassed for Disney,\u201d an entertainment lawyer who represents ABC talent told the outlet, \u201cDisney has lost its way, its identification with wholesome, American values.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does Kimmel have to do that affects his employer\u2019s image, what would he have to say [to face consequences]?\u201d asked the lawyer who contended,\u00a0\u201cAt some point, you\u2019ve got to stand up and say, this is America. Are these values the ones you want to portray?\u201d<\/p>\n

During Monday\u2019s opening monologue of \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live,\u201d the host reacted defensively toward the first lady after she called for ABC to act over his joke. He claimed it \u201cobviously was a joke about their age difference \u2014 and the look of joy we see on her face every time they\u2019re together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he\u2019s almost 80 and she\u2019s younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

KIMMEL DEFENDS THE JOKE: \u201cI said, \u2018our first lady Melania\u2019s here, look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow. Which, obviously, was a joke about their age difference- and the look of joy we see on her face every time they\u2019re together. It was a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/hrwuW6lUpt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Melania Trump condemned<\/a> Kimmel\u2019s remarks as \u201chateful and violent rhetoric \u2026 intended to divide our country\u201d before referring to the host as a \u201ccoward\u201d who \u201chides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand,\u201d she added. \u201cHow many times will ABC\u2019s leadership enable Kimmel\u2019s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community?\u201d<\/p>\n

The late-night host\u2019s response to the latest controversy came as no surprise, having previously earned the support of the leftists of Hollywood amid a temporary suspension when Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group had opted out of airing the program.<\/p>\n

Upon his return to television, Kimmel served up a non-apology<\/a> claiming victimhood status. He revealed some weeks later that he\u2019d told his own<\/a> son that the president was responsible for his suspension despite there being no evidence that Trump influenced the decisions of Nexstar or Sinclair to pull the show, as audiences took steps to boycott ABC and Disney.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen how Josh D\u2019Amaro, Bob Iger\u2019s successor as Disney CEO, will address the latest controversy. Worth noting, when Disney dropped the \u201cLadies and Gentlemen\u201d greeting in 2021 for \u201cinclusivity,\u201d D\u2019Amaro was the chairman of Disney Experiences. The greeting reportedly returned<\/a> to Disney World earlier this month.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An unapologetic late-night host once again left ABC\u2019s parent company to take the heat as even those tied to the broadcast company asked, \u201cAre these values the ones you want to portray?\u201d \u201cDisney has lost its way\u2026\u201d Having previously faced heat for suggesting Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassin was a part of the \u201cMAGA gang,\u201d Jimmy Kimmel… Continue reading Kimmel forces ABC to \u2018think long and hard\u2019 about what\u2019s being broadcast under parent company Disney<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":592330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,10,21,12,11,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-592346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancel-culture","category-censorship","category-civil-liberties","category-election-integrity","category-equal-justice","category-free-speech","category-religious-freedom","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=592346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/592330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=592346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=592346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=592346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}