Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston and hundreds of others join ACLU in warning against threats to free speech after Kimmel pulled from ABC.
A coalition of roughly 400 Hollywood figures has joined the American Civil Liberties Union in an open letter condemning Disney’s decision to pull late-night host Jimmy Kimmel from ABC’s schedule — a move critics say threatens free speech and sets a worrying precedent for media independence.
Big-name signatories include Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jason Bateman and Martin Short, alongside a wide range of actors, directors and performers such as Ariana DeBose, Jane Fonda, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Regina King, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Diego Luna, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Natalie Portman.
The letter, organized by the ACLU, frames the network’s action as part of a broader wave of pressure on artists and journalists that “strike[s] at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.”
It warns that using corporate or political leverage to silence voices — through lawsuits, threats to broadcast licenses, or station pre-emptions — risks chilling public debate and eroding constitutional protections for free expression.
Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director, amplified that argument in a prepared statement included with the letter. He likened the current moment to a “modern McCarthy era,” arguing that efforts to silence Kimmel recall mid-century attempts to root out dissent and that Americans must mobilize to prevent a similar outcome.
Romero urged readers to remember that Senator McCarthy was eventually discredited after people stood up to him — and said the same kind of collective action is needed now.
The dispute arose after remarks Kimmel made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In response, some of the nation’s largest station owners — most prominently Nexstar Media — announced plans to pre-empt Kimmel’s show on their stations.
Nexstar said it “strongly objects” to the comments, and Sinclair has indicated a similar stance. Facing the potential of widespread station-level blackouts, Disney’s ABC announced it would remove Kimmel’s late-night broadcast from its lineup “indefinitely.”
That decision prompted pushback not just from independent commentators but from artists with professional ties to Disney platforms.
The letter’s roster includes talent who appear on Disney-owned services or in Disney-distributed projects: Martin Short and Meryl Streep are part of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” Florence Pugh and Julia Louis-Dreyfus appear in the Marvel film “Thunderbolts,” Jamie Lee Curtis pops up on FX’s “The Bear,” and Kathryn Hahn starred in Marvel’s Agatha-related streaming series.
The signatories’ connections underline the letter’s point: concerns about censorship cross business relationships and studio loyalties.
The open letter closes with a clear call to action: defend the right to speak freely. Whether the statement will influence Disney’s programming choices or station owners’ plans remains to be seen, but the episode has thrust questions about corporate power, political pressure and the boundaries of broadcast speech into the national conversation.
Read the full list of names at The Hollywood Reporter
