The Directors Guild of America has called on its members to report any instances of studios censoring them following the five-day suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” by ABC.
In a memo released Thursday, the DGA said Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension was discussed by new guild president Christopher Nolan during its latest national board meeting this past weekend.
Per the memo, the DGA added that they’re developing a longer-term strategy to combat censorship by studios “in a time when a growing list of companies are capitulating to government pressure to censor creative expression and suppress speech” that is critical of the Trump Administration.
As that strategy is being developed, members are encouraged to report any cases of censorship to a new hotline email, which will be used to help shape the DGA’s response.
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“We understand that these issues go beyond the suspension of one late night program,” the memo noted. “We know this is a fight that right now feels overwhelming. But this is exactly the kind of fight our Guild was created for.”
Kimmel was suspended by ABC on Sept. 17 following comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer. Those comments led to Trump-appointed FCC chair Brendan Carr publicly condemning Kimmel for his remarks.
“When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said in a YouTube interview at the time. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Hours after the interview was released, ABC affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would not air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” with Sinclair noting Carr’s remarks in its statement announcing the decision. ABC then halted filming of the show for five days before allowing it to resume this past Tuesday. Though, Nexstar and Sinclair are still not airing the show on its ABC affiliates.
During Kimmel’s suspension, the DGA condemned the move, calling it “part of a disturbing trend of increasing interference in creative expression.”
When Kimmel returned to his show on Tuesday, he said that while it was “never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he struck back at Trump’s attacks against him and other late night talk show hosts.
“The President of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs,” Kimmel said in his opening monologue. “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”
