{"id":252637,"date":"2025-09-25T03:26:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T03:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/252637\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T03:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T03:26:09","slug":"disney-hit-with-legal-salvo-from-shareholders-over-kimmel-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/252637\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney Hit With Legal Salvo From Shareholders Over Kimmel Suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tA group of Disney<\/a> shareholders are exercising their right to demand materials related to the company\u2019s decision last week to suspend Jimmy Kimmel<\/a>\u2018s late-night show, a precursor to a potential lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a letter to Disney, the American Federation of Teachers and Reporters Without Borders said there\u2019s \u201ccredible basis to suspect\u201d that the board breached its fiduciary duty to investors by prioritizing \u201cimproper political and affiliate considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe fallout from suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live! sparked criticism as an attack on free speech, triggered boycotts and union support for Mr. Kimmel, and caused Disney\u2019s stock to plummet amid fears of brand damage and concerns that Disney was complicit in succumbing to the government overreach and media censorship,\u201d stated the letter, first reported <\/a>by Semafor.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe chain of events that led to ABC pulling the show unfolded unusually fast, starting with a thinly-veiled threat from Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr that his agency might take action against the network over accusations that the late night host mischaracterized the politics of the man who allegedly killed Charlie Kirk. Within five hours, Nexstar, an owner of ABC affiliate stations around the country, said that it would pre-empt the show. Minutes later, ABC caved.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe aftermath, which sparked national debates over censorship, saw calls to boycott Disney subscriptions and threats from talent indicating that they\u2019d stop working with the studio until Kimmel was allowed to return. Last week, Disney\u2019s stock fell by over two percent, with its market value plummeting by nearly $4 billion.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe shareholders are asking for board materials related to the suspension of Kimmel. They also seek communications with government officials, Nexstar and Sinclair over the decision; copies of Disney\u2019s deals addressing affiliate stations\u2019 right to pre-empt programming; policies regarding moderation of late-night programming; and information on the company\u2019s ability to obtain regulatory approval in other areas of its business.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe purpose of the so-called \u201cbooks and records\u201d demand is to investigate potential misconduct. Depending on what they uncover, the investors could file a shareholder lawsuit.\u00a0 \u201cThere is a credible basis to suspect that the Board and executives may have breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty, care, and good faith by placing improper political or affiliate considerations above the best interests of the Company and its stockholders,\u201d said the letter, which cites concerns of whether Disney took into consideration Nexstar\u2019s $6.2 billion megamerger with Tegna.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough Kimmel was allowed to return to ABC\u2019s airwaves, Disney will likely continue to see ripple effects from its handling of the suspension. On Tuesday, President Trump said on Truth Social, \u201cI think we\u2019re going to test ABC out on this. Let\u2019s see how we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement, Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for the shareholders who represented E. Jean Carroll in sexual abuse and defamation lawsuits against Trump, said large media companies \u201cshould not succumb to unconstitutional threats or blackmail.\u201d She added, \u201cABC was the network to run the series Schoolhouse Rock more than fifty years ago. Its leadership should pay attention to the important lessons it taught.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A group of Disney shareholders are exercising their right to demand materials related to the company\u2019s decision last…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":252638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,7299,11171,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-252637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-disney","10":"tag-jimmy-kimmel","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115262808757901144","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}