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A coalition of Disney investors is demanding access to company records, alleging that the entertainment giant’s management of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension was influenced by political pressures rather than the interests of shareholders.
In a letter sent to CEO Bob Iger on Wednesday, attorneys representing the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions, and Reporters Without Borders requested access to board materials, communications, and policies related to the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
The investor groups contend that the decision to suspend Kimmel was not based on sound business strategy but rather on threats from federal regulators and broadcast affiliates. They argue that this move undermined shareholder interests.
“Disney’s stock suffered significant declines in response to the abrupt suspension, which appeared to be in response to political threats,” the investors stated in their letter, which was first reported by Semafor.
Following Kimmel’s suspension on September 15, the company’s shares dropped by 3.3% from September 17 through the following Monday. Kimmel was taken off the air after delivering a monologue that addressed the politicization surrounding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The host returned to ABC on Tuesday, but affiliates representing about a quarter of U.S. households, including Nexstar and Sinclair stations, did not air the program.
Disney stock from 9/17
The investors are requesting access to board minutes, internal communications, affiliate agreements, and analyses of the financial impact stemming from Kimmel’s suspension.
“There 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,” the investors asserted in their letter.
Among the legal representatives for the investors is Roberta Kaplan, renowned for winning writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against Donald Trump.
“A bedrock of the United States and the key to our survival as the world’s oldest democracy is freedom of speech,” Kaplan stated in a comment to CNBC. “The government cannot and should not threaten to punish someone simply because it does not like what they have to say. And while large media companies have been at the front lines, they too should not succumb to unconstitutional threats or blackmail.”
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed reporting.
