John Oliver slams Disney chief over Kimmel ouster, warns history will remember the cowards

John Oliver used his HBO program to attack Disney chief executive Bob Iger for suspending Jimmy Kimmel, arguing that the move signals a troubling bow to political pressure and regulatory threats. On Last Week Tonight, Oliver warned that history would remember “the cowards,” a line he repeated to frame the broader issue as a test of corporate backbone in the face of government and political pressure. He urged Iger to draw a line and stand up to what he described as unreasonable demands, suggesting that executives should respond with resolve rather than appeasement, even in a high-stakes media landscape.

The late-night host’s critique followed ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel “indefinitely” after he criticized right-wing responses to Charlie Kirk’s assassination and appeared to imply that the killer might have been aligned with MAGA politics. The timing mattered: hours before the suspension was announced, federal regulators signaled that the FCC could take action against ABC and its parent company, Disney, prompting Oliver to connect corporate actions to regulatory pressure.

Oliver drew a parallel between regulatory pressures and coercive tactics, likening the FCC chairman’s remarks to those of a mafia boss in a controversial comparison. “As threats go, that is pretty clear,” Oliver said, describing a sequence in which public statements by officials could push broadcasters to censor content. He noted that Brendan Carr, the FCC commissioner, had suggested there was a strong case for action against ABC, and that the proposal appeared to be coordinated with or echoed by broadcast owners across the country. He added that Carr had even replied with humorous GIFs to inquiries about Kimmel’s suspension, a detail Oliver framed as an indicator of government pressure influencing editorial decisions.

Oliver’s critique did not stop at regulatory talk. He targeted Nexstar and Sinclair, two major owners of ABC affiliates, for removing Kimmel from the air, arguing that the sequence showed broadcasters bending to government pressure. “Basically, Brendan Carr said jump, and Nexstar took his d— out of their mouth for just long enough to say, ‘How high exactly?’” Oliver quipped, using his trademark blunt humor to illustrate his point. He connected those actions to the broader conversation about free speech, government influence, and corporate responsibility, suggesting that the episode reflected a troubling dynamic in which political pressure could erode editorial independence.

The week’s events unfolded against a broader political backdrop. President Trump publicly cheered Kimmel’s ouster and floated the possibility that broadcast licenses could be revoked from networks perceived as hostile to him, a remark that followed similar statements from Carr about Kimmel’s remarks. Trump’s comments, combined with Carr’s public stance, fed into a narrative Oliver described as a pressure campaign against a late-night host and, more broadly, against independent media commentary. In response, Kimmel addressed the controversy in his own opening monologue, saying that the past weekend had “hit new lows” as political factions attempted to shape narratives around the shooter and the political implications of the case.

Oliver did not limit his critique to individuals. He also highlighted what he described as a troubling dynamic in which political theater and regulatory talk translated into corporate risk-taking. He argued that when companies respond to such pressure by pulling programs or avoiding contentious topics, they risk normalizing government pressure as a business decision. He underscored that the responsibility lies with leaders who decide what content is appropriate for audiences, even when those decisions attract sharp political backlash.

The broader context included court filings revealing political sensitivities around the case connected to Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the political leanings of individuals associated with the case. A number of documents noted that the mother of the accused killer told investigators her son had become more political and had started to lean left, a fact that fueled further debate about how political content intersects with real-world violence and media coverage. Oliver’s segment framed these details as part of a larger contest over what is permissible in public discourse and how much influence regulators and corporate boards should wield in shaping that discourse.

The discussion also touched on the media landscape surrounding ABC’s affiliates. Oliver pointed to the coordinated response of Nexstar and Sinclair, noting that broadcast groups with local outlets were part of the chain of events that led to Kimmel’s removal from the air. He argued that the sequence demonstrated how regulatory pressure could be amplified by consolidation in the broadcast industry, effectively pressuring local stations to align with a broader regulatory and political posture.

Images from the night captured Oliver mid-lecture as he skewered the chain of decisions, while Kimmel and Iger were photographed at public events in a different era of television. ![John Oliver on Last Week Tonight](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/comedian-john-oliver-accused-disney-111928543.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024