Former Disney CEO Bob Iger defended the Jimmy Kimmel suspension in recent interview
In his FT exit interview, the former Disney boss said pulling Kimmel off the air wasn’t political, it was about a joke in “bad taste.” It’s a stance Disney’s Dana Walden took months ago too. Here’s what both of them said.
Bob Iger is finally leaving Disney, and on his way out he addressed one of the messiest moments of his final stretch: the Jimmy Kimmel suspension.
His take might surprise people who assumed Disney regretted the whole thing. Iger defended the call. And he’s not the only top Disney executive who has.
A quick refresher on what happened
Here’s the short version, kept to the facts, because the details got heated.
In September 2025, ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air for about a week. The suspension followed comments Kimmel made on his show about the reaction to the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The remarks drew anger from conservatives, and the head of the FCC publicly suggested ABC’s broadcast licenses could be at risk.
Disney suspended the show, then brought it back six days later after talks with Kimmel. The decision was made by Iger and his then-deputy, Dana Walden. It set off a huge debate, with critics on multiple sides, boycotts, and a lot of noise about free speech.
It was, by any measure, one of the thorniest situations of Iger’s final run.
What Iger said in his exit interview
Now, months later, Iger has addressed it directly in his interview with the Financial Times.
His main point was that the decision wasn’t political, even though plenty of people assumed it was, given that President Trump was among those upset with Kimmel. Iger pushed back on that read.
“That was not the case,” he said. “We thought it was in bad taste.” He added that Disney simply wanted Kimmel to “acknowledge that it was an ill-timed and probably inappropriate comment.”
So in Iger’s telling, this wasn’t Disney bowing to political pressure. It was a company deciding a joke crossed a line and wanting the host to own it. Whether people buy that or not, that’s his explanation.
Dana Walden said much the same thing
Here’s the part that makes Iger’s defense more than just one man covering his legacy. His deputy said it too, months earlier.
Dana Walden, who co-ran Disney Entertainment with a major role in the decision and has since become Disney’s president and chief creative officer, addressed the suspension back in December. She described it as an effort to “take the temperature down” after the controversy exploded.
Walden framed it around protecting people. “We wanted to resolve the situation in a certain way to protect our employees, to think about our audience,” she told Bloomberg. She also said that, despite the assumptions, neither Trump nor anyone from the White House actually called her or Iger about it.
So you have two of the most senior people involved, speaking months apart, landing on the same basic defense: this was a business and workplace decision, not a political surrender. They’re a united front on it.
The twist that complicates the easy narrative
Here’s the detail that makes this story more interesting than a simple “executives defend unpopular decision.”
Kimmel himself didn’t come out of it holding a grudge. After his show returned, he spoke warmly about the behind-the-scenes talks with Walden and Iger, calling them “really good conversations.” He even publicly endorsed Walden to be Disney’s next CEO, the same executive who had just pulled his show off the air.
That’s not how it usually goes when a host gets benched. It suggests the private reality of those conversations was more complicated than the public firestorm made it look. Both sides came out of it on speaking terms, even friendly ones.
Where it stands now
The dust has mostly settled, but the bigger fight didn’t fully end.
Kimmel is still on the air. Disney is currently tangled in a separate FCC dispute over ABC, which is its own ongoing story. And the Kimmel saga has become a case study that people on every side point to when they argue about media, politics, and free speech.
What’s clear from these interviews is that Disney’s leadership isn’t backing away from the call they made. Iger defended it on his way out the door, Walden defended it months before, and their explanations match. You don’t have to agree with their reasoning to notice that the people who made the decision have closed ranks behind it. For a company that usually prefers to avoid these fights entirely, that’s about as direct as Disney gets.
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Hat Tips:
Financial Times, via Yahoo and Cinemablend (June 2026), verified for Iger’s “that was not the case,” “bad taste,” and “ill-timed and probably inappropriate comment” quotes from his exit interview
The Hollywood Reporter and CNN (2025-2026), verified for Walden’s “take the temperature down” and “protect our employees” quotes, her role in the decision, and her promotion to president and chief creative officer
The Hollywood Reporter (October 2025), verified for Kimmel calling the talks “really good conversations” and endorsing Walden as Disney’s next CEO
Wikipedia (June 2026), verified for the September 2025 suspension timeline, the six-day length, and the decision being made jointly by Iger and Walden