More Than 400 Artists Sign a Letter Warning of 'Threats' to Free Speech

2025-09-22T21:28:41Z

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More than 400 artists signed a letter organized by the ACLU supporting Jimmy Kimmel.
The letter mentioned “government threats to our freedom of speech.”
Disney owns ABC, the network that suspended Kimmel’s show.

Jimmy Kimmel is headed back on the airwaves on Tuesday night.

Before Disney’s Monday afternoon decision, more than 400 artists signed a letter on Monday in support of Jimmy Kimmel after Disney-owned ABC suspended his show last week over comments he made about Charlie Kirk and pressure from FCC chair Brendan Carr.

“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech,” the letter, which was organized by the ACLU, read. “Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.”

Kimmel’s suspension marks “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation,” the letter says, before saying that they all love the country regardless of their political affiliation. Some late-night hosts and politicians have also criticized ABC’s decision.

Here are some of the biggest names who signed Monday’s letter.

Aldis Hodge

Aldis Hodge has been acting alongside his brother, Edwin Hodge, since the age of nine. In 2022, he starred as Hawkman in DC’s “Black Adam,” one of his highest-profile roles to date.

Hodge currently plays the lead role of Alex Cross in the Amazon Prime series “Cross,” which is based on a series of detective novels by James Patterson.

Alison Brie

Rising to prominence for her role as Annie Edison in the sitcom “Community,” Alison Brie recently starred in the the supernatural body horror film “Together” alongside costar Dave Franco.

Brie is also known for her voice acting in “BoJack Horseman” and “The Lego Movie.”

Anthony Anderson

Anthony Anderson was inducted as a “Disney Legend” in September 2022, an award given to those who made significant contributions to the Disney legacy. He is best recognized for his starring role as Andre “Dre” Johnson Sr. on the hit ABC sitcom “Black-ish,” as well as being the eight-season show’s executive producer.

“I’ve sat on the couch with my friend @jimmykimmel for over 20 years and today I STAND with my friend,” Anderson wrote in a Facebook post.

Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller is best known for his work as an actor, producer, and director in comedy films such as “Zoolander.” His iconic role as Larry Daley, the museum guard in “Night at the Museum,” is a part of Disney’s film library.

Stiller wrote, “This isn’t right” on X following Kimmel’s suspension, and the post received a response from Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform.

Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal was recognized as a “Disney Legend in 2013 for his voice acting in the Pixar classic, “Monsters, Inc.,” as the green one-eyed monster Mike Wazowski, which became one of the studio’s most iconic characters.

Crystal also hosted the Academy Awards nine times and won a Tony Award for his one-man play “700 Sundays.”

Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston, the “Breaking Bad” star, is a four-time winner of the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

The “Veep” star posted about the letter on Threads, warning that “if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.” She also posted a photo with Kimmel and said, “SHAME @ABC.”

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo stars as the Hulk in Disney’s Marvel universe. Ruffalo posted about the letter on social media, along with other comments about the suspension.

“It’s going to go down a lot further if they cancel his show,” he said in a post on Threads about Disney’s stock price. “Disney does not want to be the ones that broke America.”

Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal stars in “The Mandalorian,” a live-action Star Wars series for Disney+, and is set to act in this role once more for a coming Star Wars movie.

He posted a photo with Kimmel on Instagram over the weekend, with the caption “Defend #FreeSpeech Defend #DEMOCRACY.”

America Ferrera

America Ferrera won a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role as Betty Suarez in “Ugly Betty.” The show about an ambitious young woman navigating the fashion industry first aired on ABC, which is owned by Disney.

Ferrera also starred in “Barbie.”