&34;America's third favorite Zazu&34; noted that viewers could list the reason for their cancellation of the platforms as &34;refusing to protect freedom of spe

"America's third favorite Zazu" noted that viewers could list the reason for their cancellation of the platforms as "refusing to protect freedom of speech."

John Oliver urges viewers to boycott Disney+, Hulu amid Jimmy Kimmel suspension

"America's third favorite Zazu" noted that viewers could list the reason for their cancellation of the platforms as "refusing to protect freedom of speech."

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and *NME*.

EW's editorial guidelines

September 22, 2025 11:36 a.m. ET

Leave a Comment

John Oliver on 'Last Week Tonight'. Credit:

John Oliver is encouraging viewers to "exert pressure" on Disney amid Jimmy Kimmel's ongoing suspension from its network, ABC, by cancelling their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions. **

The 48-year-old late-night host called out the company during Sunday's episode of *Last Week Tonight, *telling his viewership to specify the reason for their cancellation from the streamers as "refusing to protect freedom of speech" before issuing a statement directly to Disney CEO Bob Iger himself. **

"As for Disney, I'd argue they need to stand by Kimmel and his staff," Oliver said. "And there are ways that you can encourage them to do that. You could exert pressure on them by cancelling Disney+ or Hulu. Google searches on how to do that have skyrocketed in the past few days."

John Oliver on 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'.

ABC made the historic decision to pull* Jimmy Kimmel Live* off the air indefinitely last week after the host made comments about the "MAGA gang" and its response Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the assassination of far-right conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10. The decision came hours after FCC chair Brendan Carr appeared on a podcast in which he implored local broadcast affiliates to preempt the show and called for Disney to punish Kimmel for engaging in "some of the sickest conduct possible."**

"We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel remarked at the time.**

ABC's move to preempt the series indefinitely sparked swift condemnation online, with Disney stars like stars like* She-Hulk* actress Tatiana Maslany, *HSMTMTS* alum Olivia Rodrigo, as well as past and present late-night hosts like Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, David Letterman, and more all calling out the decision. The Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America also marched on Disney's headquarters in Burbank, Calif., last week in protest.

Bill Maher defends Jimmy Kimmel 23 years after his own ABC cancellation: 'This s--- ain't new'

Trump trashes 'highly overrated' David Letterman after Jimmy Kimmel comments: 'He looks like hell'

On *Last Week Tonight*, Oliver told viewers to "be specific" when it comes to the reason why they're cancelling the streaming platforms, giving suggestions like "cowardice in the face of pressure," "refusing to protect freedom of speech," or even "Donald Duck's corkscrew penis — also the Kimmel thing, I mean, a little bit the Kimmel thing — but mostly Disney's silence regarding Donald Duck's anatomically accurate corkscrew penis." **

Still, the host noted that "it really shouldn't take the threat of lost revenue to bring Disney to its senses here." So, Oliver, who starred in the 2019 live-action adaptation of *The Lion King *and described himself as "America's third favorite Zazu," then turned to the camera to speak directly to Iger. **

"One day, the history of the time we're living through is going to be written. And when it is, I'm not sure it's those in this administration who are even going to come off the worst," he said. "Now, don't get me wrong, they're going to come off terribly. But history is also going to remember the cowards who definitely knew better but still let things happen, whether it was for money, convenience, or just comfort."

Oliver acknowledged that he understood this was "a tough sell" to "risk-averse business leaders," but that it was necessary to draw a line in the sand against Donald Trump and his administration sooner rather than later. **

"If we've learned nothing else from this administration's second term so far, and I don't think we have, it's that giving the bully your lunch money doesn't make him go away," he said. "It just makes him come back hungrier each time. They are never going to stop. They've literally said that openly." **

To prove his point, Oliver referenced the Truth Social post that Trump made after learning of Kimmel's cancellation, in which the president urged NBC to follow suit and cancel *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon* and* Late Night with Seth Meyers*. He added that FCC chair Brandon Carr has also "hinted that* The View* might be next," adding, "*The f---ing View." ***

"Look, at some point, you're going to have to draw a line," Oliver said. "So, I'd argue, why not draw it right here?"**

He continued, "And when they come to you with stupid, ridiculous demands, picking fights that you know you could win in court, instead of rolling over why not stand up and use four key words they don't tend to teach you in business school. Not, 'Okay, you're the boss.' Not, 'Whatever you say goes.' But instead, the only phrase that can genuinely make a weak bully go away, and that is: 'F--- you, make me.'"

*Last Week Tonight With John Oliver *airs Sundays on HBO. Watch Oliver discuss Kimmel's suspension in the clip above.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL TV"

Read More

---

Source: VOGUE MAG

Full Article on Source: VOGUE MAG

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities