Mamdani boycotts ABC town hall over Jimmy Kimmel suspension

Zohran Mamdani, the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee, announced Monday that he is withdrawing from a WABC town hall to protest Disney's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live. The event, hosted by ABC News' New York affiliate, was scheduled for Thursday, about a week after Disney said Jimmy Kimmel Live would be preempted indefinitely.

Mamdani told reporters on Roosevelt Island that 'it is not the government's job to bully talk show hosts off of the air' and that it should not be dictating what people can discuss. He spoke at Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms State Park, invoking the former president's 1941 address and his Four Freedoms thesis that democracy rests on freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Mamdani said that 'all of our freedoms are currently under attack from this federal administration.'

Mamdani said his withdrawal is not an indictment of the local affiliate or its journalists, but a response to corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility to uphold the freedom of the press. The White House pushed back against the charge of authoritarianism, with a spokesperson stating that the administration defends First Amendment rights and that Mamdani's characterization was inappropriate.

The 33-year-old candidate tied the move to the broader political climate, arguing that the suspension came after the FCC's pressure and corporate decisions tied to the merger between Nexstar and Sinclair, which he said reflected a wider assault on press independence. He reiterated that his decision was aimed at principle rather than at any single station or journalist.

In the weeks ahead of the November election, Mamdani said he would participate in another town hall featuring questions from the public. ABC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.