Disney investors are demanding answers on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension

A group of Disney investors is demanding access to the company’s records to investigate how it came to the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show.

“Although we are pleased that ABC did the right thing and put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air last night, due to the Trump administration’s continued threats to free speech, including with respect to ABC, we are writing to seek transparency into the initial decision to suspend Mr. Kimmel and his show,” the group wrote in the letter. 

The American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, and Reporters Without Borders, represented by a group of lawyers — including lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who represented E. Jean Carroll against President Trump — sent a letter Wednesday to Disney and its CEO Bob Iger demanding access to company records to seek out “potential wrongdoing, mismanagement, and breaches of fiduciary duty” from those in connection to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. Semafor first reported the news Wednesday. 

“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 letter said. 

The group wants access to a slew of internal documents, including copies of meeting minutes, financial analyses, and written correspondence from company directors — including Iger — that relate to Kimmel’s suspension. More specifically, they want documents that relate to the impact on Disney’s revenue, threats from Nexstar and Sinclair, communications with government officials or representatives and political organizations, and more.

“Disney shareholders deserve the truth about exactly what went down inside the company after Brendan Carr's threat to punish ABC unless action was taken against Jimmy Kimmel,” AFT president Randi Weingarten said in a release from Democracy Defenders Fund, which is also mentioned in the letter. “The Disney board has a legal responsibility to act in the best interests of its shareholders—and we are seeking answers to discover if that bond was broken to kowtow to the Trump administration.”

AFT and RWB are demanding Disney give access to the requested documents and communications within five business days of receiving the group’s letter. The group said if Disney should “fail to comply” then AFT and RWB will “pursue all available remedies.” 

“A bedrock of the United States and the key to our survival as the world's oldest democracy is freedom of speech,” Kaplan said in the release. “The government cannot and should not threaten to punish someone simply because it does not like what they have to say.”

Disney did not immediately respond to Quartz’s request for comment.