A top Disney executive and Jimmy Kimmel met on Thursday but were unable to reach a “resolution” to their “standoff,” insiders at Puck revealed Friday.
Puck reported that the meeting in Los Angeles was “cordial” but made little progress, as Kimmel refused to agree to do “more than what he wanted to say on Monday.”
After the meeting ended in a stalemate, Puck entertainment insider Kim Masters said that she is “not sure there’s a world where Kimmel returns” as ABC’s late-night host.
Kimmel remains suspended “indefinitely” for now. The saga began with him speculating on his show on Monday that the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk may be aligned with MAGA. Backlash ensued, and Puck reports ABC suspended Kimmel after he “refused to tone down a planned response to the backlash.”
Puck’s Matthew Belloni said he hopes Disney can “thread the needle” to bring Kimmel back while also keeping the right-wing cancel brigade, including President Donald Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr, at bay.
Talks reportedly remain ongoing between Kimmel and network executives regarding whether the 57-year-old can return to late-night TV without immediately putting pressure back on ABC and its local affiliates.
“He’s talked for years about retirement, and there’s no point coming back if he’s just going to run afoul of Carr and the conservative cancel culture again in a couple of weeks,” Belloni said of Kimmel. “That’s what they are talking about now.”
Puck reported that Kimmel’s suspension was over his refusal to give a toned-down response to backlash, not just from the remark itself.
POOL New/REUTERS
The report said Kimmel’s preferred response to the backlash would clarify he “never believed the alleged Kirk killer was MAGA.” However, it also “attacked Fox News by name” and “right-wingers on social media” who he felt mischaracterized his remark.
“Disney thought that went too far,” Belloni said of Kimmel’s preferred response.
Disney’s decision to pull Kimmel has been rebuked by much of Hollywood. It also appears to have emboldened Trump, 79, to target more of his media adversaries.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that “97 percent” of the networks are against him and that they may need to have their license stripped.
“They’re getting a license,” Trump said. “I think maybe their license should be taken away.”
He continued: “When you have a network and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump, that’s all they do—if you go back, I guess they haven’t had a conservative one in years, or something—when you go back and take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that.”
Trump has encouraged NBC to part ways with its late-night hosts, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon. If not, he has suggested that NBC may be targeted by the FCC next.
“Their ratings are also horrible,” he posted this week. “Do it NBC!!!”
Puck reported that there are genuine fears at NBC that they could also be targeted. “I do know Seth has been freaking out over this,” Belloni said.
Belloni and Masters agreed that Disney CEO Bob Iger, 74, opened the door for Trump to launch a media crackdown by agreeing to pay $16 million last fall “to settle the very winnable George Stephanopoulos litigation at ABC News.”
“Maybe Trump’s agenda was preordained, but bullies tend to be emboldened when they get what they want, and Iger should have known that—a big judgment error,” Belloni said. “And, shocker: Carr is now talking about going after ABC’s The View, and today Trump floated revoking licenses of all broadcasters that are ‘against’ him. It’s pretty insane. Iger’s name is on the new ABC News building in New York. His wife is the dean of a journalism school. And now his legacy is at risk.”
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