In response to ABC‘s decision to indefinitely pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, entertainment industry
unions have issued the following statements:
“The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other—to disturb, even—is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied,” said Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE). “Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice. As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn’t have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to—painful as it may be at times—is the freeing agreement to disagree. Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world. The WGA stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his writers.”
“This is not complicated: Trump’s FCC identified speech it did not like and threatened ABC with extreme reprisals. This is state censorship,” said the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). “It’s now happening in the United States of America, not some far-off country. It’s happening right here and right now. This act by the Trump Administration represents a direct attack on free speech and artistic expression. These are fundamental rights that we must protect in a free society. The American Federation of Musicians strongly condemns the decision to take ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ off the air. We stand in solidarity with all those who will be without work because of government overreach.”
“Our society depends on freedom of expression. Suppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues of public concern run counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on,” said SAG-AFTRA. “Democracy thrives when diverse points of view are expressed. The decision to suspend airing ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ is the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms. SAG-AFTRA stands with all media artists and defends their right to express their diverse points of view, and everyone’s right to hear them.”
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler posted to social media: “When big corporations enable the government to silence their employees, our entire democracy is at risk. The labor movement stands with SAG-AFTRA, WGA and the AFM in condemning the attacks of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ and defending workers’ fundamental freedoms.”