The fallout over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension has reached New York City’s closely followed mayoral race.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, announced on Monday that he is withdrawing from a televised town hall that was set to be hosted by WABC, a local ABC affiliate in New York, this coming Thursday.
Mamdani said that he made the decision to stand up for free speech.
“I am withdrawing not as an indictment of the local affiliate or the hardworking journalists, but rather in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press,” Mamdani said.
He also accused Disney, the parent company of ABC, of “cowardice” in the face of “authoritarianism” from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Spokespeople for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kimmel’s show was suspended after the late-night comedian made controversial comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the wake of his assassination, saying that “the MAGA gang” was “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.”
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The suspension also came hours after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr appeared to pressure the network in comments to conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on the podcast. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
The suspension, as well as Carr’s comments, have led to outcry from politicians in both parties.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees the FCC, said that Carr’s comments were “dangerous as hell.”
In the wake of Kirk’s death, some conservative politicians have called on people to report anyone celebrating Kirk’s death to their employers, and major corporations have fired employees over their comments about Kirk.
The Working Families Party, a progressive organization that backed Mamdani’s candidacy, has called on Democratic politicians to return donations received from Disney, as well as Nexstar and Sinclair, two ABC affiliates who opted to pull Kimmel before the network suspended him.
