Ahh, capitalism. Seems the little guys – and by that, I mean the parents of the truly little guys (Bluey fans, et al.) – have realized that $15.99 a month sure adds up when a parent company pisses off a few hundred thousand subscribers.
Facing incredibly hulking cancellations, Mark Ruffalo posted on social media that Disney had lost 7% of its stock value. The Marvel star predicts – if they didn’t reverse their decision to silence Jimmy Kimmel, that would be just the beginning.
Seems ABC suspending Kimmel because he’s been a festering wound in a certain punitive president’s sickly psyche has awakened a sleeping beauty of support for the late-night comedian.
I’m not going to bother tying the talk host’s suspension to any particular comment Kimmel might have made about MAGA martyr, Charlie Kirk. Because, let’s face it, like so many other aspects of the Kirk assassination, that man’s death has become a weapon in the hands of villains who’ve been looking for just the right moment to strike at the administration’s most critical voices.
Think Ursula when she makes Ariel pay for increased mobility and freedom – with her voice!
It seems Disney executives overlooked one important item in the post-Kirk political realignment, lots of people didn’t like Kirk’s racism or the way he venerated murderers who murdered people that weren’t him.
Oh, and Disney totally missed the point that people really liked Jimmy Kimmel’s style of pushing back.
Consumers aren’t just yanking their subscriptions. Quite a few partisans have taken to the street. Seems that for some folks, free speech still has a sacred ring to it. But that’s the problem with Kimmel’s suspension – his late-night monologues aren’t protected under the first amendment.
Disney Entertainment Television (owns ABC, HULU, et.) pays Kimmel to be on the air and their reasoning behind keeping him there is their business. They want him on the air. They keep him. They want him gone. He’s gone.
Oh sure, both employer and employee signed an agreement that includes compensation, schedule expectations and mutually agreed to work practices.
Kimmel’s got a contract and – rumor has it – he’s taking folks to court. Good for him. People don’t seem to like the business decisions made by ABC and her parent company, so they’re cancelling their subscriptions. Good for them. Capitalism to the rescue!
Sadly, as you might expect, capitalism can’t cure everything. And governing sensible programming seems outside its actual grasp.
We’ll have to wait a quarter to see if FOX News revenues drop since one of their hosts called for wholesale slaughter of many economically disadvantaged Americans.
Unlike Disney, FOX Corp’s stock price is relatively unchanged and social media hits are in the tens of millions since Brian Kilmeade advocated exterminating unhoused people.
No, when it comes to trash talking humans who aren’t rich and powerful white supremacists, it seems capitalism ain’t helping one little bit.
In the case of FOX News’ scandalous spokesman – think Disney villain Cruella de Vil, you know, the one who callously called for the death of at least 101 dalmatians – it appears capitalism is protecting Kilmeade’s job.
And while Kilmeade probably wouldn’t want to make a coat from his victims, the idea that “involuntary lethal injection, or something” for persons experiencing homelessness – followed up with the quip, “Just kill ’em” didn’t end his career, or even earn the host a suspension, tells you all you need to know about the leadership at FOX News and their parent company FOX Corporation.
And the viewers? Well, I haven’t heard about any nationwide boycotts punishing the network. Have you?
For now, only time will tell which way the corporation’s winds will blow. Neither Kilmeade nor Kimmel are members of the First Amendment’s protected class. They aren’t members of the press, and they aren’t expressing religious freedom.
As far as free speech goes – they are welcome to stand in the street and shout at random passersby – like any other American.
READ: State Senator Steve Santarsiero: American Democracy Is the Frog and the Water Is Starting to Boil
As paid performers, both television hosts belong to a privileged class who receive financial compensation for the things they say, how they say them and their popularity with a desired audience.
Since Ronald Reagan repealed the Fairness Doctrine and George W. Bush neutered the Federal Communications Commission, the cable networks and broadcast free trade zones in which they ply their trade don’t have to offer any rebuttal or require their hosts hold to any ethical or decency standards. A free enterprise free-for-all that would make Aladdin’s rapacious Jafar blush.
In the end, greed decides the fate of these two talking heads.
After all, that’s what capitalism’s all about.
