I went to a protest at Disney over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. It wasn’t just about one comedian.

• Hollywood writers and actors gathered Thursday to protest Jimmy Kimmel getting pulled from the air.
• Several hundred people showed up at the protest outside Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
• Protesters said they were worried about a broader crackdown on free speech in entertainment.

The vibe outside Disney studios on Thursday was more anger and frustration than magic and imagination.

I visited the main gates of Walt Disney Studios’ headquarters in Burbank, California, on Thursday, to talk to protesters, many of whom were Hollywood writers, who showed up in droves in support of Jimmy Kimmel.

A day prior, the comedian’s late-night show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” was pulled from the air by ABC indefinitely following pressure from Nextar, a media company that owns ABC affiliate stations, and FCC chair Brendan Carr after Kimmel’s comments on the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

“I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing,” Carr said in a statement to Business Insider on Wednesday, after ABC said it pulled the show. “Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values. I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar’s lead.”

I talked to a dozen or so attendees who told me they were there to support Kimmel, but also because they are concerned about a broader crackdown on free speech in entertainment and other industries.

It was clear that Kimmel’s cancellation, as well as other recent actions by the Trump administration, are having a chilling effect on many in the industry.

Disney did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider regarding the protest.

Hundreds of people showed up to protest.

The protest, promoted by the Writers Guild of America West, started at noon on Thursday, the day after Kimmel was suspended, at the main gates of Disney Studios in Burbank, which is just north of Los Angeles and also home to Warner Bros. Studios.

Several hundred people showed up, including people who work in the entertainment industry, neighbors, and Burbank’s mayor.

For the couple of hours I was in attendance, there was a constant stream of honking and waving from people passing by in cars and expressing support as the protesters marched in front of Disney’s gates.

Many attendees were members of the Writers Guild of America West.

Several of the attendees I spoke to were part of the Writers Guild of America West, whose members include writers for Kimmel’s show. Plenty of people were wearing blue WGA shirts, while others were wearing shirts for SAG-AFTRA, a union for actors and other industry roles.

Several people I spoke to said they showed up to support Kimmel but also to send a message that they will not tolerate folks in their industry being silenced over protected speech.

“I’m out here today because as a fellow storyteller, I’m supporting not only Jimmy, but also any storyteller that has been silenced specifically during this administration and beyond that,” Aiko Little, a WGA member, told me.

Little, who is Oglala Lakota, said that as a Native American storyteller, they are especially concerned that more and more people will be silenced or lose work opportunities.

Many of the protesters expressed direct support for Kimmel.

There were plenty of signs that directly supported Kimmel and demanded he be put back on air.

Several people said they were shocked that Kimmel, of all people, had his show suspended, calling him a relatively moderate figure.

Mike Van Gorder, a local protest organizer who lives in Burbank, called Kimmel’s comments about Kirk “mild criticism.” He told me he thought Kimmel’s indefinite suspension was so chilling because it showed that even the biggest, most powerful figures aren’t safe, adding, “It’s not going to stop with Kimmel.”

Free speech, overall, felt like the theme of the day.

When I asked Kevin Hench, a comedy writer and WGA member, why he showed up to protest, his answer was simple: “Free speech.”

“That’s how I make my living,” he said. “And I’m friends with Jimmy Kimmel, and I like him quite a bit personally, but I also think Tucker Carlson should have the right to free speech.”

Several people worried about what this means for comedy specifically.

Hench told me his concerns around free speech go beyond the current administration and that there’s been a chilling effect from both sides of the political spectrum on what you can and can’t joke about.

“Obviously, this is a dire advance in the march against free speech,” he said. “I don’t think anybody likes writing jokes looking over their left shoulder or their right shoulder.”

Speaking to the crowd, organizer Van Gorder said, “Is comedy better when you have to ask permission?”

There were lots of Disney references.

As could probably be expected at a protest full of writers, plenty of the signs had clever references to Disney and its shows and movies.

Several people made parallels between the situation and “Andor,” Disney’s show in the “Star Wars” universe that depicts the oppression of the Galactic Empire.

One sign referencing Disney’s CEO said, “Did Bob Iger even watch Andor?”

And calls to boycott Disney.

Protesters were calling on people to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions and boycott the company.

One of them was Karen Duarte, a retiree who said she came to the protest because she’s worried about the younger generations.

Disney ended up closing its main gate.

Disney Studios eventually closed its main gate to traffic as more and more protesters showed up.

Protesters called out ABC and President Donald Trump.

Anger was directed not only at Disney but also at ABC, which carries Kimmel’s show, and President Donald Trump, who celebrated the news of Kimmel’s cancellation.

Alternate ABC acronyms that I saw on protesters’ signs included: “always been cowards”; “Americans being censored”; and “absolute bloodsucking cowards.”

Stephen Colbert was on protesters’ minds, too.

“They silenced Stephen Colbert. They’re silencing Jimmy Kimmel. They can’t silence all of us,” Van Gorder, the organizer, told the crowd.

CBS announced earlier this summer that it was canceling Stephen Colbert’s show, a move that Trump also celebrated. CBS said it was a purely financial decision.

There were also larger concerns about consolidation in the media business.

“First Colbert and now Kimmel, and now where?” Ryan Mekenian, a writer and director who works as an associate digital producer for “Family Feud,” told me.

“These companies are becoming more and more conglomerated together and power is centralized, and so I feel like that means there’s less systems of checks and balances,” he said. “It only takes just a couple of people to kowtow to the FCC or to the administration.”

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