“I first heard Jimmy Kimmel on Kevin & Bean shortly after I moved to L.A. in my twenties,” Lindelof wrote on Instagram. “I was a fan of his goofy honest wit from the jump and I never imagined we would one day be friends. I met him for the first time backstage at the ABC upfronts in 2004… he had just seen The Lost pilot and dug it. He also said, ‘I hope you guys know what you’re doing.’l
“In the twenty years since, I’ve gotten to know Jimmy and if you know Jimmy, you know his incredible wife and head writer, Molly, who is not just his better half but his better three quarters,” he continued. “You also know he is caring and empathic and in grateful. You know he loves his country. You know he appreciates a good roast and he can take as good as he gives. You know he supported his crew through multiple strikes and you know he is generous and philanthropic and most of all, you know that he is kind.”
“I was shocked, saddened and infuriated by yesterday’s suspension. I look forward to it being lifted soon,” he went on. “If it isn’t, I can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it. If you’re about to fire up in my comments, just ask yourself if you know the difference between hate speech and a joke. I think you still do.”
“And Jimmy? You’ve ALWAYS known what you were doing. Love you and support you,” he concluded.
Yesterday, ABC (which is owned by Disney) announced that it would be pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air indefinitely over innocuois remarks he made about the death of right-wing demagogue Charlie Kirk.
“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 doing everything they can to score political points from it,” said Kimmel.
The comments were inoffensive to sane Americans but ABC chose to terminate Kimmel’s show in a blatant effort to pander to Donald Trump who has long been clamoring for Kimmel’s firing because of his relentless criticisms of MAGA. This is a stunning assault on free speech, with the Trump administration ironically exploiting the legacy of a “free speech warrior” to carry out an agenda in direct opposition to his supposed beliefs.
Matthew Belloni of Puck News is reporting that he is “hearing other talent weighing similar pledges” to Lindelof’s. All of Hollywood must unite and follow Lindelof’s lead. Nothing less than the First Amendment is at stake here. Future generations will judge us on how we rise to meet this moment.
About the Author
