BURSTMike Eisner, the former longtime CEO of Disney, criticized the company's current leadership for suspending Jimmy Kimmel following pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over comments the comedian made about the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk.
"Where has all the leadership gone," Eisner wrote Friday in a post on social platform X. "If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment?"
Eisner called ABC's decision "yet another example of out-of-control intimidation," by the federal government.
"Maybe the Constitution should have said, 'Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest,'" the former chief executive of the House of Mouse quipped. "By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny."
Disney is facing controversy after taking Kimmel off the air for comments he made Monday accusing Republicans of trying to score "political points" off Kirk's death and attacking President Trump.
Kimmel's remarks led FCC Chair Brendan Carr to admonish him and argue the network should punish the late-night host.
The comedian's suspension has sparked outrage among first amendment advocates, Democrats and fellow late-night entertainers, many of whom spoke in solidarity with Kimmel on Thursday evening.
Eisner was CEO of Disney from the mid 1980s until 2005. He revamped the company's animated movie studio and oversaw its acquisition of ABC and ESPN during his tenure leading the multibillion-dollar media conglomerate.