Disney’s Jimmy Kimmel Crisis Deepens as Sarah McLaughlin, Jewel Pull Out of ABC News ‘Lilith Fair’ Performance Over Suspension

The crisis sparked by the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is roiling ABC and its corporate parent, the Walt Disney Company, marring the Los Angeles premiere of a new documentary produced by the network and leading to left-wing calls for a boycott. ABC News’s’ “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery,” a documentary about the all-female music festival that began in 1997, premiered on Hulu and Disney+ on Sunday. The event was supposed to have musical performances. However, due to the decision to pull Mr. Kimmel off the air, a co-founder of Lilith Fair, Sarah McLachlan, and the other artists who were supposed to perform collectively decided to cancel their appearances.Ms. McLachlan, an iconic musician long known as an advocate of progressive causes, most notably feminist causes, said in a lengthy statement Sunday, “It’s a gift for all of us to see [this film], but also I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with, the stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech.”“I think we’re all fearful for what comes next, and none of us know, but what I do know is that I have to keep pushing forward as an artist, as a woman to find a way through,” she said. “If Lilith taught me anything, it taught me there is a great strength in coming together to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. So I really hope this documentary inspires everyone to continue to try and create positive change in your communities.”Sarah McLachlan and Diane Sawyer attend the premiere of ‘Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery’ during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall on September 13, 2025. Mathew Tsang/Getty ImagesA veteran media reporter, Matthew Belloni, reported that singer-songwriter Jewel was scheduled to perform but canceled as well. The premiere took place roughly a week after Mr. Kimmel threw ABC and Disney into turmoil when he said a “MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.” By the time of his comment, the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, had stated that the suspect held left-wing views.The decision to pull Mr. Kimmel’s show came after the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, warned that his agency might have more “work” ahead of it if Disney and ABC did not deal with the Kimmel situation.Mr. Carr also suggested that station groups should decline to air Mr. Kimmel’s show. Hours after his comment, two of the largest station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, said they would not air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Critics were quick to point out that Nexstar recently announced a deal to acquire another station group, Tegna, which requires approval from the FCC, and cast the decision as an attempt to ensure the deal goes through.The artist Paula Cole at Lilith Fair. ABC News StudiosBut Nexstar and Sinclair, whose management teams lean conservative, may also have tired of Mr. Kimmel’s years of falling ratings, even as he ratcheted up his rhetoric against MAGA and conservatives in increasingly acidic monologues on what is supposed to be a broadly appealing comedy show. The independent station groups command significant power at Disney. On top of the financial and potential regulatory pressure, Disney executives were also reportedly concerned that Mr. Kimmel planned to address the controversy — not to apologize but to double down on his comments, which executives feared would make the situation even worse. An article from the Hollywood Reporter said that Mr. Kimmel “planned to explain what he said and demonstrate how it was taken out of context. When asked by THR, the source said that Kimmel was not planning on apologizing. He felt what he said did not require an apology.”In the face of Mr. Kimmel’s refusal to apologize, executives decided to pull his show roughly 30 minutes before it was supposed to be recorded.Jimmy Kimmel makes his remark about the MAGA movement and Charlie Kirk on his broadcast. DEGOver the weekend, Variety reported that Mr. Kimmel, ABC, and Disney were in talks to bring his show back, but it was unclear if the parties would reach an agreement. Sinclair, which is known to be the most conservative station group, wants the late-night host to apologize and to make personal, financial donations to the Kirk family and to Turning Point, the conservative youth organization Kirk founded, before Sinclair resumes broadcasting his show on its 38 ABC affiliates. Mr. Kimmel, one of the most active Democrats in Hollywood and emcee of a Democratic fundraiser attended by Presidents Biden and Obama last year, is not likely to be enthusiastic about giving to Turning Point.While the negotiations continue, the future of the dozens of staffers who work for Mr. Kimmel hangs in the balance. Variety says the late-night host is “mindful of the effects a shutdown would have” and is “aware some staff and crew members are still digging out of the financial hole created by the months-long writers and actors strikes in 2023.” The outlet notes that ABC and Disney have a strong financial incentive to bring Mr. Kimmel back, as ad spending on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” amounted to $51.1 million in 2024. But the Kimmel show is enormously expensive to produce. When “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” was canceled this summer, Paramount executives told reporters it cost more than $100 million to produce. Network insiders say that — however you do the accounting — there would be a net upside financially if the Kimmel show were no longer being produced. In recent years, ABC cut the show back to four days a week, a clear indicator that the show — done before a studio audience with a unionized staff and a highly compensated star — is simply too expensive for the current, diminished broadcast landscape. A former executive editor of Ok! Magazine, Rob Shuter, wrote in his newsletter last week that people close to Mr. Kimmel said he would rather give up his show than apologize.President Biden speaks during a campaign event with President Obama moderated by Jimmy Kimmel, left, at the Peacock Theater, June 15, 2024, at Los Angeles. AP Photo/Alex BrandonWhile the negotiations continue, left-wing journalists and commentators have compounded the crisis by urging people to boycott Disney. The host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver, told viewers Sunday, “You could exert pressure on them by canceling Disney+ or Hulu.”“ABC and its parent company Disney still have a chance to do the right thing here. I do get that the easier path for them right now is to keep [Mr. Kimmel] off the air and the administration off their back,” Mr. Oliver said. He noted that in December, Disney agreed to pay $16 million to settle Mr. Trump’s defamation lawsuit after ABC News star George Stephanopoulos falsely said the president had been “found liable for rape.”“Giving the bully your lunch money doesn’t make him go away; it just makes him come back hungrier each time. They are never going to stop,” Mr. Oliver said. Jimmy Kimmel thanks volunteers at a Las Vegas Democratic coordinated campaign canvass launch with Senator Jacky Rosen on October 21, 2024. Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesBy Monday morning, it appeared ABC and Disney had failed to reach an agreement to bring Mr. Kimmel back. Mr. Kimmel has not publicly commented on his suspension. ABC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Disney’s Jimmy Kimmel Crisis Deepens as Sarah McLaughlin, Jewel Pull Out of ABC News ‘Lilith Fair’ Performance Over Suspension

Disney’s Jimmy Kimmel Crisis Deepens as Sarah McLaughlin, Jewel Pull Out of ABC News ‘Lilith Fair’ Performance Over Suspension

More from the New York Sun

New York Governor’s Race Tightens, With Blakeman Swaying Independent Voters, as Debate Looms on the Horizon

Cornyn Says He Personally Chose To Exclude Paxton From Attending Texas Fundraiser With Other GOP Senate Candidates

Susan Collins Denies Corruption Allegations, Accusing Democrats of ‘Hit Job’ Less Than Six Weeks Before Midterm Election

Diana’s Brother Warns ‘Monstrous’ King Charles That Prince Harry Is at Risk of Assassination

GOP’s Sore Losers Threaten To Hand the Senate to the Democrats

‘Dramatically Misleading’ Is the Term for Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient’ Claims About Climate Change

An Exquisite Off-Broadway Reinvention Retains Stoppard’s Spirit

A View From the Porch

More from the New York Sun

New York Governor’s Race Tightens, With Blakeman Swaying Independent Voters, as Debate Looms on the Horizon

Cornyn Says He Personally Chose To Exclude Paxton From Attending Texas Fundraiser With Other GOP Senate Candidates

Susan Collins Denies Corruption Allegations, Accusing Democrats of ‘Hit Job’ Less Than Six Weeks Before Midterm Election

Diana’s Brother Warns ‘Monstrous’ King Charles That Prince Harry Is at Risk of Assassination

GOP’s Sore Losers Threaten To Hand the Senate to the Democrats

‘Dramatically Misleading’ Is the Term for Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient’ Claims About Climate Change

An Exquisite Off-Broadway Reinvention Retains Stoppard’s Spirit

A View From the Porch