By Nancy D. Reza, Special to the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol
Less than an hour after the Writers Guild of America sent an email to its membership to join in a protest on Thursday at noon supporting free speech, over 300 writers gathered in front of Disney headquarters in Burbank.
WGA writers wearing guild-issued electric blue T-shirts emblazed with “Writer Power,” held up signs and banners, some that simply said, “No” with others exclaiming, “The First Amendment is not optional.” Drums and noise makers encouraged drivers on Alameda to “Honk for Freedom!”
WGA Board President Meredith Stiehm and Executive Director Ellen Stutzman addressed the group. Both cited the importance of standing strong, asking the crowd, “What do we do when we’re under attack!” The crown roared, “We fight back!” Stutzman stated, “We want Disney and this Administration to know that we will be active until Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air.”
Burbank Mayor Nikki Perez addressed the crowd, sharing that she is one month post-partum, but knows the importance of speaking out for free speech. “Freedom of speech is not negotiable. I don’t want my little girl to grow up in a world where it’s okay for people to spread misogyny,” said the mayor, “but when somebody makes a joke about the President with the most fragile ego in the world, that’s a problem.”
On Wednesday, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! Will be suspended until further notice, in response to his comments regarding the 21-year-old man who fatally shot right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel stated on his show, “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.”
Although in recent years the Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, touted the need for satire and free speech, he now felt Kimmel had crossed a line and suggested Kimmel’s show should be suspended, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Major local TV station owner Nexstar said it would preempt Kimmel’s show for the immediate future, which was quickly followed by ABC yanking the show “indefinitely.”
Under the Disney roof, profiles of the Seven Drafts looked down on the crowd, where a U.S. flag was held upside down, a sign of distress.
There were various signs pointing to many complaints against the current Administration regarding immigration and fascism, and one sign lamented, “For Guillermo,” Kimmel’s beloved sidekick.
One young woman, who was not a WGA member, said she was there on her lunch break, after a friend called to warn her to be careful. Holding high a State of California flag, she proudly stated, “They can’t arrest all of us.”
One of the protest organizers asked, “Is comedy better when you have to ask permission?” The crowd again shouted, “No!” Is criticism better when the only thing that is broadcast is to protect one man’s feelings?” The crowd again, “Hell no!”
A number of signs pointedly asked, “Did (Disney President Bob) Iger even watch ‘Andor’?” This science fiction political spy drama, produced by Disney is the story of how a future government operates and the everyday consequences of its actions upon its citizens. One writer at the protest shared, “It’s a great show about our basic civil rights being stripped away. I watched it again last night, and as soon as I finished, I cancelled my Disney + subscription.”
Another speaker stated, “We are here because they are repeatedly silencing us. They can’t silence all of us. We will keep coming back, because when they come for one of us, you know they’re coming for all of us.”
Mayor Perez ended her remarks with, “Regardless of where you are in the political spectrum, regardless of where you are in any of this, Walt Disney would be turning in his grave. The most American thing is freedom of speech.”
Continued protests at the Disney lot are planned for the immediate future, with other protests planned for the Hollywood area.