With Jimmy Kimmel coming back to the air Tuesday, some may assume the crisis at Disney has passed. Indeed, Disney has had a horrible week in far more ways than the ABC affiliate firestorm kicked off by Kimmel’s misinformation about Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer.
Many are, by now, aware that Disney-owned ABC decided to allow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to return to the air after less than a week in suspension for the false suggestion that the man who was arrested and accused of murdering conservative activist Charlie Kirk was “MAGA.”
The return to the air, though, wasn’t as easy as it first appeared. After ABC made its announcement of Kimmel’s return, two of the network’s biggest carriers, Sinclair Media and Nexstar, have made announcements of their own. Both are saying that they still won’t air Jimmy Kimmel Live, no matter what ABC says.
But this mess is not Disney’s only worry over the last week.
Some reports claim that attendance at Disney’s massive theme parks is crashing. One report noted that a Tiktoker recorded video of a nearly empty Disney World and called the place “deserted.”
“I’m at Magic Kingdom right now, and this place is a tomb. There is literally nobody here. There is no wait time for anything. Space Mountain – walk on. Haunted Mansion – walk on,” the Tiktoker said in the video. “It’s Labor Day weekend – should be crowded, should be packed normally – this place is empty.”
“What’s going on? Why is there nobody here? I have never seen it like this. It’s been years since I’ve seen it this empty, especially on a holiday weekend. I don’t know,” he said.
It isn’t for a lack of tourists in the state of Florida. The state says that 34.435 million people visited the Sunshine State between April and June, up from the 34.279 million during the same time period last year.
Disney’s online streaming service, Disney+, is also still struggling and the Mouse House has been implementing subscription hikes. In the UK, for instance, subscribers are seeing a $13.50 a year hike, according to The Sun.
Americans already saw their rates rise starting next month when the streamer’s $9.99 per month plan soared to $11.99 and its “no ads” option went from $15.99 to $18.99.
Finally, Mickey himself ended up being dragged into court this week after the law firm Morgan & Morgan took Disney to court over a commercial ad the firm made featuring a Steamboat Willy version of Mickey Mouse, which first appeared in 1928. By law, that version entered the public domain in 2024, and should be open for free use without restrictions or copyright fees paid to Disney.
The law firm wanted to use the Steamboat Willy Mickey in an ad, and had sent a letter to Disney asking if their plans would get them sued. But Disney refused to reply, saying that they don’t “provide legal advice to third parties.”
The law firm is suing to get a clear call on whether its use would violate any of Disney’s copyrights. The firm says it needs this guidance because Disney is famously litigious and they don’t want to create their Mickey ad in good faith, only to be sued. The lawsuit is asking a judge to confirm that their ad does not infringe on Disney’s other copyrights.
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The post Kimmel’s Collapse, ‘Empty’ Parks, (Another) Streaming Price Hike: Disney’s Disastrous Week Keeps Getting Worse appeared first on Breitbart.
