Bob Iger’s legacy matters more than politics, it seems.
Some ABC insiders believe Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension had more to do with Iger “trying to steady the ship,” and further cement a Walt Disney-like legacy before he eventually steps down as CEO of the Mickey Mouse company.
“[Iger] may come across as this slick Hollywood Mr. Nice Guy, but he’s no bulls–t. He’s all about business,” one insider told Page Six.
The source added of Iger and Kimmel: “He’s personal friends with Jimmy, which complicated the issue,” of him getting pulled off air.
Kimmel was yanked off-air last week for suggesting MAGA supporters and politicos were using the Charlie Kirk’s assassination for political gain.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said on his show referring to Tyler Robinson last week.
The comment sparked outrage from one of the biggest TV station conglomerates, Nexstar Media, who threatened to pull Kimmel from its ABC-affiliated markets. FCC chairman Brendan Carr thanked Nextar “for doing the right thing” and threatened to take action against ABC, saying, “local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public’s interest.”
He added, “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.” (Nexstar is in a bid to purchase, Telstar, another TV station owner, for $6.2 billion, which would need Carr’s approval to seal the deal).
“[Iger] is in no danger of not being rich, but if he loses the FCC and ABC suffers financially, then he suffers,” another source speculated. “He wants to be a visionary like Walt Disney,” they added, suggesting a fallout with the FCC would have a fatal blow to his Disney legacy.
Another insider told us Iger’s decision, “was guided by principle and the desire to do the right thing for the company.”
Meanwhile, our first source told us it’s not uncommon for ABC to yank people off the air, pointing to Bill Mahr, whose “Politically Incorrect” show got axed in 2002, and correspondent Brian Ross, who was booted in 2018.
In Kimmel’s case, however, ABC is bringing him back, which most [at the network] concur is “the perfect compromise,” our first source said.
Kimmel will return to his show on Tuesday night. He subsequently returned to social media for the first time since the debacle earlier in the day. He shared a photo with Norman Lear and wrote: “Missing this guy today.”
A rep for Kimmel and Iger did not get back to us.
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