Several Hollywood names have joined the growing movement to boycott Disney after ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air.
Tatiana Maslany, the Canadian actress who starred in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, posted a call to action in her Instagram stories Thursday.
"Cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!" she wrote in the post, which featured a throw-back photo from the Marvel set.
ABC, the broadcaster owned by Walt Disney, said on Wednesday it was yanking Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely after the nation's top communications regulator threatened to investigate Kimmel's commentary about the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, a prominent ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The decision comes as Trump has repeatedly pressured broadcasters to stop airing content he has found objectionable and called on the Federal Communications Commission to pull licences from stations. FCC chair Brendan Carr drew immediate criticism for pressuring Disney and local broadcasters to drop Kimmel's show.
Amid the backlash and debates about free speech and censorship, people are also calling for a boycott of Disney and Hulu streaming services.
Other prominent figures who have posted about boycotting the companies behind the decision include writer and producer Damon Lindelof, best known for Watchmen and Lost, who wrote on Instagram that he "can't in good conscience work for the company" if Kimmel's suspension isn't lifted soon.
Tatiana Maslany attends the world premiere of Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Aug. 15, 2022. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images)Transparent actor Amy Landecker posted a photo of her Disney+ subscription cancellation. Frances Fisher (Titanic, Unforgiven, Jolene) posted a guide in her Instagram stories on how to boycott Disney and ABC.
Boycott threads have also gained traction on social media platforms like Reddit and X, where people are posting not just about cancelling their streaming subscriptions, but also Disney vacations and cruises.
"Our annual trip to Disney Orlando won't happen. Disney Channel was cancelled yesterday. I'm only one. There are millions more like me," wrote prominent social media personality Travis Matthew on X.
"Not going to be spending my money on Disney stuff for the foreseeable future. The park price hikes were hard enough, but the company bending the knee and not standing firm on the 1st Amendment makes it a whole lot easier for me to not supply them with any of my money," commented a user on the Disneyland subreddit.
The comments came during Kimmel's opening monologue Monday.
"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 with everything they can, to score political points from it," Kimmel said.
Kirk, a close conservative ally of Trump, was killed by a sniper's bullet on Sept. 10 at a university campus in Utah. On Sept. 12, authorities announced they had the accused killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, in custody.
There's been a lot of speculation about a potential motive, with politicians and partisans attempting to blame the other side. Trump blamed "the radical left," while others theorized some of the messages found on the bullet casings could link the suspect to the far right.
WATCH | Where does Trump's pressure on U.S. media end? ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! is just the latest response from a large U.S. media company to pressure from the Trump administration. Industry observers wonder, where does it end?On Tuesday, prosecutors outlined more evidence against Robinson, including statements from his parents that described him as moving left politically and "becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented."
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Carr said the issue is that Kimmel appeared to "mislead" the public.
Executives will meet with Kimmel to discuss the future of his program, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.