Shares of Disney have lost over $4 billion in value since the TV host’s show was pulled from the air last week.
Criticism of Walt Disney’s decision to cancel the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show on ABC is mounting, with retail stock investors growing increasingly worried amid reports of users canceling their subscriptions to the company’s streaming services.
Disney’s shares fell nearly 2% last week, while the retail sentiment for the stock has been ‘extremely bearish’ since Thursday, according to Stocktwits data. Users debated the show’s cancellation and its potential impact on Disney’s public image and stock performance.
“$DIS easy short,” a user posted.
In an episode last Monday, Kimmel remarked that Republicans were trying to gain political points off activist Charlie Kirk’s murder and also mocked President Donald Trump’s reaction to the shooting.
That drew criticism from several quarters, including Disney’s partner TV networks, Nexstar and Sinclair, as well as a warning from U.S. Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr.
Meanwhile, key figures are also speaking up against what they see as the government’s overreach. Top officials from Trump’s own Republican party, Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, have publicly said that Carr’s remarks were inappropriate and his threat to pull TV licenses was dangerous.
“If there’s one thing history shows, it’s that persecuting comedians who mock the head of state is always on the wrong side of history,” Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham said in a post on X late Sunday.
He said his family had canceled its Disney+ subscription, joining a wave of angry fans raising boycott calls against Disney on social media. “What they are is spineless,” Graham said about Disney. “When wokeness has the upper hand, they give in to that, and when Trump does, they give in to him.”
A Business Insider report noted that both critics and fans of Disney are canceling subscriptions, with Google searches for “cancel Disney Plus” and “cancel Hulu” rising since Kimmel’s suspension.
Media personalities like David Letterman and Ben Stiller have also spoken in support of Kimmel. Disney executives and Kimmel are expected to meet later this week to discuss his future.
Disney shares are up just over 2% year-to-date, underperforming the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes. The company has lost over $4 billion in market capitalization since Kimmel’s suspension last week.
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