Marvel Stars Turn On Parent Company, Call For Disney Boycott After Kimmel Suspension

Several Marvel stars are urging a boycott of their own parent company, Disney, following last week’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel’s show airs on ABC, which Disney also owns.

“She-Hulk” actress Tatiana Maslany told her Instagram followers to terminate their streaming services, writing, “Cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!” 

Actor Pedro Pascal shared a similar message on social media Thursday, asking fans to boycott as a means to “defend free speech” and “defend democracy.”

Marisa Tomei, who played Aunt May in several Marvel Spider-Man films, also instructed her followers to “unsubscribe and boycott” Disney and ABC.

Marvel actor and outspoken leftist Mark Ruffalo also wrote that the company’s stock will “go down a lot further if they cancel” Kimmel’s show permanently.

“Disney does not want to be the ones that broke America,” Ruffalo wrote in a Threads post. He also told fans that he’s on Kimmel’s side by posting a photo of them standing together, which included the caption, “Standing with you Jimmy Kimmel Live!” 

Ruffalo said during a No Kings online event, “My industry doesn’t really understand what’s happening right now, but what they do understand is our freedom of speech is being attacked.”

“Lost” creator Damon Lindelof threatened to sever ties with Disney on social media, saying he could not “in good conscience work for the company” until Kimmel’s show is back on the air. Lindelof’s threat is significant because he is involved in an upcoming Star Wars and Lucasfilm project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Disney owns Lucasfilm and the Star Wars brand.

“I was shocked, saddened and infuriated by yesterday’s suspension and look forward to it being lifted soon. If it isn’t, I can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it,” Lindelof wrote.

A statement voicing outrage over the suspension has been signed by more than 600 comedians, including Jimmy Fallon, Chelsea Handler, Rosie O’Donnell, W. Kamau Bell, Kathy Griffin, David Cross, Kevin Nealon, Margaret Cho, and others.

“It’s a dark time for comedians, and by extension, for all Americans,” it reads. “When the government targets one of us, they target us all. They strike at the heart of our shared humanity. They strip away the basic right every person deserves: to speak freely, question boldly and laugh loudly.”

The comments from Kimmel that prompted the backlash included the host falsely claiming that Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA supporter. Investigators say that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man arrested for Kirk’s killing, was deeply steeped in leftist ideology and disliked the conservative commentator for his beliefs.

“We hit 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 doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his show last week.

The late-night host’s suspension came amid pressure from broadcast companies that own ABC affiliates, including Nexstar and Sinclair, who pulled the show from their stations.