is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
Disney is in a tangled web of its own making. In just one week, the entertainment giant managed to anger both sides of the political spectrum, and then topped it all off with a Disney Plus price hike that made just about everyone mad. Now, Disney’s facing criticism from all sides, and it may struggle to patch its relationship with many of its viewers.
Disney’s recent troubles started when it suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show after the host commented on the response to Charlie Kirk’s death in one of his monologues. Kimmel said MAGA supporters tried to “score political points” by characterizing the suspect “as anything other than one of them” at a time when his political motivations were highly muddled. His comments outraged conservative and right-wing social media users, with Elon Musk calling Kimmel “disgusting.”
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr later said during a podcast with conservative influencer Benny Johnson that the FCC would intervene unless broadcasters “find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel.” Instead of ignoring Carr’s threats, Disney participated in what can only be considered government censorship by having ABC, which broadcasts Jimmy Kimmel Live!, pull the show off its schedule “indefinitely.”
The move may have been enough to temporarily satisfy some of the right, but it alarmed (mostly) the left, supporters of free speech, and fans of the show in general. While members of the Writers Guild of America held picket signs outside Disney’s headquarters, Democratic FCC commissioner Anna Gomez called Disney’s move “cowardly corporate capitulation that has put the foundation of the First Amendment in danger.” Even celebrities began supporting the fast-spreading calls to boycott Disney, with She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany telling her half a million followers on Instagram to cancel their subscriptions to Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN. Hundreds of actors, including Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, and Jennifer Aniston, also signed a letter in support of Kimmel.
The widespread outrage likely pushed Disney to reinstate Kimmel’s show just days later, but the initial suspension has already muddied Disney’s reputation. The news of Kimmel’s return reignited the right once again. MAGA Voice, a right-wing influencer with more than 1.2 million followers on X, wrote, “Disney ABC let the WOKE Mob get to them and decided to bring back Jimmy Kimmel,” adding that it’s “TIME TO BOYCOTT DISNEY,” while others called on followers to do the same.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to ABC on Tuesday night, though dozens of ABC affiliates owned or operated by Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar continue to preempt it. When Kimmel took the stage, he called Carr’s threat “a direct violation of the First Amendment.” President Donald Trump responded by saying in a Truth Social post that he’s going to “test ABC out” on its decision to bring back Kimmel, noting that the company previously paid him to settle his defamation lawsuit.
Now, amid the swath of social media posts showing people canceling their Disney Plus subscription in response to the Kimmel controversy, Disney has announced that it’s raising the price of its streaming service and various bundles. Disney’s price change officially goes into effect on October 21st, bringing its cheapest, ad-supported plan from $9.99 / month to $11.99, while its ad-free plan will go from $15.99 / month to $18.99.
Disney last raised the price of Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus in October 2024, and it has since kicked off a password-sharing crackdown that requires subscribers to pay an extra fee to share their account with someone outside their household. The pricing of streaming services seems like it’s on an endless upward hike, and it doesn’t help that other services, like Peacock and Apple TV Plus, just raised their prices, too. If the Kimmel situation didn’t push people to unsubscribe, having to deal with yet another price hike just might.
Correction, September 24th: A previous version of the article stated Trump settled with ABC over 60 Minutes, but he actually settled with Paramount.