It looks like the Trump regime has gotten both Colbert and Kimmel canned (the latter immediately), and Trump has said that Fallon and Meyers are next on the chopping block. Will this happen and, if so, how soon? Does NBC have any pending business that would cause them to fire one or both of them to appease The Powers That Be?
It will happen within the next 30 days.
Of the three major-network hosts who are/were in the 11:30 Eastern slot – Colbert, Kimmel, and Fallon – Fallon is, AFAICT, by far the most anodyne and least political. But, at this point, Trump may feel that any talk-show host who isn’t a loyalist is a threat.
May feel? He has already openly targeted them, saying they are next.
I think these network execs should throw in together. Add about 8000 big Hollywood actors, directors and Studio bosses. And just go to war with Trump. What’s he gonna do?Have a tantrum?
You can hold them all down. These folks will have to be brave and willing to suffer for their beliefs. Especially the first few who speak out.
I’m thinking of the Red scare, McCarthy hearings, HUAC hearings…when they started not giving names it went away.
We really do need exactly that sort of gumption.
This completely disregards the power of stockholders.
Gotta start somewhere. When the sand dune is going down it starts out slowly…
Kimmel may be the first grain of sand.
What he can, and undoubtedly would, do, is instruct his administration to block proposed mergers and other corporate activities, and otherwise make their lives miserable.
This almost undoubtedly played a role in Colbert’s cancellation: Paramount (the owner of CBS) was attempting to get approval for a merger, and the owner of their merger partner (Skydance), David Ellison, who had been a big contributor to Biden’s campaign last year, has apparently been sucking up to Trump in recent months.
This, exactly.
Seems to me like it’s time for a talent strike.
As I noted in another thread on the Fallon situation: only the very biggest stars have any leverage whatsoever.
Edit: as was often discussed during the recent SAG strike: the vast majority of SAG actors aren’t working at any given time, and only something like 2% of SAG members are able to make a living solely by acting. Actors who decide to strike over this will likely replaced by actors willing to cross the picket line.
That’s why it needs to be organized through unions. One actor striking is struck down. If they all strike? They have the power.
Shut ABC down. Shut Disney down.
Some rumblings:
And more:
I think we learned during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike that the majority of union members can’t afford a prolonged period without pay.
It’s important to note that this will have a chilling effect even if they don’t end up getting Fallon and Meyers off the air. Imagine you pitch an SNL sketch that makes fun of Trump – at the very least, everyone is going to think twice on going forward with it. It may very well get rejected for fear of retaliation. This sort of censorship / compliance will become the new norm, lessening the need to actually kick people off air.
The first new episode of SNL is scheduled for October 4, so it will be interesting to see whether the show addresses these cancellations.
The actions of NBC in the next week and a half will determine what direction SNL takes.
Between Trump’s mental decline, his hot and cold relationship with Fox and the way he considers anything that isn’t praise to be a slight against him, my hope is that he targets a Fox host (or multiple Fox Hosts).
I think that’s probably the best chance we have of getting people to push back. I don’t think the MAGA crowd considers firing Kimmel to be a 1A issue. I’m guessing a lot of them don’t have Kimmel on their radar and are happy to believe that Trump was telling NBC to fire him because of his low ratings. If he goes after Fox, then, suddenly, it’ll be a problem for them.
The other thing I’m waiting to see happen is for NBC to lose viewers and sponsors and for NBC and their sponsors to see their stock prices fall. That might get people on the right to realize Trump isn’t bullying the left, he’s actively taking money out of his base’s pocket.
ABC. Jimmy Kimmel was on ABC. Jimmy Fallon is on NBC. This thread is on speculation as to whether NBC will follow ABC’s and CBS’s lead in firing their late night hosts – which they have not yet done.