A Jimmy Kimmel staffer revealed during an interview with Rick Ellis that they can’t imagine a scenario in which the late-night show, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, returns. The staffer, speaking to Ellis for his ‘Too Much TV’ newsletter, said that even if Jimmy Kimmel were to publicly apologize and donate money to any conservative group, ‘MAGA people will never be happy. It will never be enough.’
The show’s cancellation followed Kimmel’s remarks on Charlie Kirk’s assassin, which reportedly led Disney to decide the best course of action was to buy out the rest of Kimmel’s contract and replace the show with reruns. The staffer expressed their belief that Disney would opt for the cheapest solution, rather than risk potential backlash from conservative groups. The staffer said, ‘Disney will look at the situation and decide it’s cheaper to buy out the rest of his contract and replace the show with reruns of Modern Family and Judge Judy.’
The staffer also noted that their lack of surprise at the show’s cancellation was due to a sense that the network executives lacked the courage to support their employees. The individual said, ‘I had zero faith that any of the network execs had the slightest bit of stones to stand up for their employees.’ The staffer suggested that the show’s cancellation was inevitable, especially following the comments made by MAGA supporters.
Additionally, the staffer criticized Disney for what they saw as a lack of loyalty to their employees, saying, ‘Because it was becoming increasingly clear in recent weeks that Sir Iger and the ABC executives would cut us loose in a second if they thought something we did might hurt attendance at Disney World or cost anyone their annual bonus.’ They concluded by stating that working for Kimmel had been great, but the company’s priorities were not in line with supporting the show.