U.S. President Donald Trump embraces Erika Kirk, during a memorial service for her husband, slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, U.S., September 21, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Deadline executive editor Dominic Patten said that one of the big reasons that Disney/ABC caved into demands over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was due to comments by President Donald Trump at the memorial service for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on Sunday.
Patten told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace that Disney was looking for a way to backtrack "almost immediately" after it suspended Kimmel because the backlash was so significant. It has only expanded over the weekend, with more than 400 artists joining the movement and some already canceling projects with Disney.
Patten said that some are calling this a "tipping point."
What happened over the weekend, however, made a huge impact, he said.
Those include: "President Trump at the Charlie Kirk memorial, raging against his enemies, including Jimmy Kimmel, very publicly. I think Howard Stern announcing this morning that he had canceled his Disney+ subscription, which was obviously something brewing out there. And I think the 400 big names, the likes of Meryl Streep, that signed an ACLU letter today," he listed.
All of these things only added to the "pressure on the very media-sensitive and critic-sensitive Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney. And, of course, the Disney Entertainment boss Dana Walden," Patten said.
Trump also pledged on Truth Social that he would target Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next, claiming credit for getting rid of Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.
He explained that Disney wanted to figure out a way to get Kimmel back.
"They found one, clearly," Patten said. What will be interesting to see is what the details of the deal are.
He warned, "So much goodwill has been lost."