Dear MoveOn member,
In an abrupt move that stunned viewers nationwide, Disney-owned ABC network suspended Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show "indefinitely," after he dared to criticize Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans on air.1
This decision came just hours after Trump's handpicked FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, publicly assailed Kimmel and threatened to yank ABC's broadcast license over his remarks.
Disney hasn't even bothered to offer a phony excuse for getting rid of Kimmel. It's glaringly obvious that he was taken off the air because he got under Trump's skin.
As The New York Times puts it, this is "an extraordinary exertion of political pressure on a major broadcast network by the Trump administration."2
MoveOn members and the public are outraged. More than 180,000 people have already signed MoveOn's petition demanding that Disney and ABC reinstate Kimmel and stand up to Trump's bullying.
But that's just the beginning. We're launching an urgent campaign—including billboards near Disney’s corporate offices—to escalate the pressure on Disney and ABC to reverse their censorship, and we need your help to pull it off.
Will you chip in $5 a month to support MoveOn's campaign demanding ABC and Disney put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air and help us keep standing up to Donald Trump's authoritarian censorship, no matter what it takes?
Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Your donation will help fuel our mobile billboard—a truck-mounted, giant digital screen—which will be driven around ABC's studios and Disney's headquarters, publicly shaming them for bowing to Trump's pressure. This eye-catching, rolling billboard will blast the message "We’re with Jimmy" in huge letters with the link to our petition, for all to see. It will turn heads on the streets, attract press coverage, and ensure that Disney and ABC executives can't ignore the public outrage. Look:
In addition to the mobile billboard, we're running a huge campaign to not only get Kimmel reinstated but also defend free speech and stand up to authoritarianism. We'll ramp up the pressure with ...
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A huge petition delivery: We'll keep growing the petition (already at more than 180,000 signers) and then deliver the signatures directly to Disney and ABC executives in a high-profile, powerful visual showing a massive public support for Kimmel.
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A social media blitz: MoveOn will flood social media with shareable content and rapid-response videos calling out Disney and ABC for caving to Trump's demands. We'll get hashtags trending, shine a spotlight on censorship, and rally even more Americans to speak out. Every repost and share will send Disney and ABC the message that the public is watching and expecting them to do the right thing.
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Celebrity participation: We're reaching out to comedians, entertainers, and other public figures to co-sign an open letter condemning Kimmel's suspension. Late-night hosts, actors, and musicians who care about free speech will add their names, urging Disney and ABC to reinstate Kimmel immediately. This kind of solidarity from well-known cultural figures will increase media attention and pressure the network to respond. We'll also work with celebrities to promote our campaign on social media.
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Grassroots rallies: We'll support MoveOn members and partner organizations to organize grassroots protests and events outside ABC studios, Disney offices, and key locations nationwide. Crowds of people will gather with signs and megaphones to chant "No censorship!" and demand the return of Kimmel's show. Local and national media will be called on to cover these events, adding yet more pressure on Disney and ABC to reverse course.
Please, chip in $5 a month to send a loud and clear message to Disney and ABC: Americans won't tolerate corporations helping Trump silence dissent.
Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
We've seen what happens when authoritarian leaders manipulate the media: Voices get silenced, propaganda replaces truth, and democracy withers.
Trump is testing the limits—seeing what he can get away with and how people react. He's suing news outlets that criticize him, threatening broadcast licenses, and gloating as critical voices are taken off the air.
We cannot let this go unanswered. If we fail to push back at this moment, it will embolden Trump and push our country further toward authoritarianism.
Today, it's Colbert and Kimmel; tomorrow, it could be any journalist or public figure—or others, in any sphere of life—punished for speaking out or being an "enemy" of Trump.
We cannot allow an American president to turn our free press into a state propaganda machine. Please donate $5 a month to help beat back censorship and authoritarianism.
Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
MoveOn members like you have never sat quietly while our freedoms are stripped away. We know how to organize, mobilize, and fight back. Now, we must raise the volume of public outrage to a level that Disney and ABC cannot dismiss.
With enough pressure—from public protests to bad PR to high-profile condemnation—we'll force Disney and ABC to reverse this terrible decision.
We can show every other network and CEO that the public expects them to grow a backbone and defend free speech, not to bow down to Trump.
Please, if you're able, chip in $5 a month to help fund this urgent campaign to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel and push back against Trump's takeover of our media.
Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Together, we will show Trump, ABC, Disney, and every power-hungry politician and their corporate sycophants that the American people will not tolerate the silencing of truth-tellers. We will defend our democracy's bedrock principle of free expression—and we'll get Kimmel back where he belongs: on the air, speaking truth to power.
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Oscar, Justin, Mona, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Disney Pulled Jimmy Kimmel as Pressure Built on Multiple Fronts," The New York Times, September 18, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/business/media/disney-abc-jimmy-kimmel.html
2. "ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure," The New York Times, September 17, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/business/media/abc-jimmy-kimmel.html
Want to support MoveOn's work? Donald Trump’s authoritarian takeover intensifies every day. But we must remember that authoritarian governments worldwide have not withstood a challenge by 3.5% or more of its people. MoveOn can reach, train, organize, and support at a scale unparalleled in the progressive movement—which we need now more than ever. Will you make a monthly donation today to power this urgent and critical organizing?
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