Credit: Becky Burkett/Disney/Walt Disney Archives/CanvaThe backlash over Disney’s decision to suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has reached a crescendo over the last 24 hours. Hundreds of actors signed an ACLU petition against the decision, and the company was forced to cancel a red carpet event promoting its newest documentary over fears of what the artists would say about the incident to the press.
On Sunday morning, Disney announced that it was canceling the red carpet premiere of its documentary, Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery– The Untold Story. Disney made the announcement just hours before the event was set to take place in Los Angeles.
On Saturday night, Disney emailed the press to confirm the event and inform everyone that Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, and Mya would be walking the red carpet on Sunday, only to cancel the event hours later.
McLachlan founded the female music tour in 1997 and was set to perform at an after-party, but canceled her performance after the documentary’s debut. In a statement, McLachlan said, “’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with, the stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made, watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech.” Jewel was also scheduled to perform after the premiere, but backed out.
The documentary chronicles Lilith Fair’s rise in the late 1990s. McLachlan founded the tour despite being told by industry insiders that “no one would attend” a concert with more than one female act. The tour ran for three straight summers from 1997 to 1999 and was revived for a second run in 2010.
Disney has faced protests and boycotts in the days since it decided to pull Kimmel from the air over his comments about the death of Charlie Kirk. The decision came after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told a podcast that ABC should “stop airing the show.”
Disney also faced pushback from Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar, the two largest owners of ABC affiliates. Sinclair said that it would not put Kimmel back on its airwaves until he apologized to the Kirk family and Disney made a sizable donation to the family.
Kimmel and Disney are currently in negotiations for his return to the airwaves, but it appears that little progress has been made. Meanwhile, Disney is taking shots from both sides of the political aisle, and its CEO, Bob Iger, has been missing in action.
Canceling the red carpet event for a popular Hulu documentary shows just how scared Disney is of allowing artists to perform at an open mic in front of a Disney-owned backdrop. As this situation continues to boil, things only worsen for Disney.
What do you think of Disney’s decision to cancel the red carpet event out of fear of what female artists would say about the company? Let us know in the comments.