Jimmy Kimmel’s brief suspension by Disney made shareholders furious. Subsequently, they submitted a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger, demanding the reason behind the suspension. The late-night talk show host was suspended from September 17 through September 22, 2025. The suspension occurred after Kimmel claimed conservatives used Charlie Kirk’s death to gain political points.
How Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension may have affected Disney shareholders
The counsel for the American Federation of Teachers and Reporters Without Borders — Disney’s shareholders — sent a letter to Bob Iger. Also sent along with the letter were documents containing true excerpts of AFT’s and RWB’s business records, obtained by Variety. These records proved the companies’ ownership of Disney stock.
The groups stressed Disney’s stock “suffered significant declines” in response to the company’s “abrupt decision” to suspend Kimmel. Disney’s shares reportedly dropped by 3.3% from September 18-23. However, it closed up by 1.03% on Wednesday, September 24.
Shareholders requested production of Disney’s internal documents and communications related to Jimmy Kimmel’s week-long suspension. Furthermore, they invoked shareholder rights under the Delaware General Corporation Law 220.
They demanded Disney release “certain books and records for inspection and copying.” Notably, these requests are granted in cases of breach of fiduciary duty or management decisions.
The shareholders demanded answers on whether Disney’s board of directors, executives, and others connected to Kimmel’s suspension were involved in “potential wrongdoing, mismanagement, and breaches of fiduciary duty.”
Moreover, the groups said they reserved the right to “initiate an action” compelling production of documents and pursuing “all available remedies.” This was if Disney didn’t comply with their demands by either “refusing to timely respond” or “refusing this Demand in whole or in part.”
In a statement to Variety, Clayton Weimers, Reporters Without Borders’ executive director, said the “affair” surrounding Kimmel’s suspension was “far from over,” despite the talk show host’s return.
“The FCC continues to threaten media organizations over content it doesn’t like and, in the case of Kimmel, dozens of affiliates are still refusing to air his show,” Weimers shared. “The public needs to know how government actions toward the media unfolded in this instance, so we can stop this reckless assault on the First Amendment from going any further.”
