Jennifer Aniston told Elle magazine as part of its Women in Hollywood cover series that it was “very dangerous” when ABC pulled her longtime friend Jimmy Kimmel off the air in September because of comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s shooting death.
“Unthinkable things are happening,” Aniston said. “It’s very dangerous and very unfortunate. But at the end of the day, we’re the viewers. We subscribe to these networks and streaming services, so it really comes down to the people and their voices. All those subscription cancellations spoke volumes.”
Aniston is referring to reports that Kimmel’s suspension resulted in a surge of Disney+ and Hulu subscription cancellations by consumers outraged over ABC’s decision. According to research firm Antenna for the month of Sept. 2025, the U.S. cancellation rate for Disney+ averaged 8% — double the 4% estimate for the prior two months — while Hulu’s cancellation rate for the month was 10%, twice the 5% for the preceding two months.”
In his Sept. 15 monologue shortly after Kirk’s suspected killer was arrested, Kimmel quipped: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.” The line got the late-night host suspended. When he returned to air on Sept. 23, an emotional Kimmel said it was never his intention “to make light of the murder of a young man.”
ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel did not sit right with many in Hollywood. Oscar Isaac recently made headlines for saying he was “not so open” to working with Disney (ABC’s parent company) on another “Star Wars” movie in the immediate aftermath of Kimmel’s suspension. The actor added: “If they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great… if that happens, then yeah, I’d be open to having a conversation about a galaxy far away. Or any number of other things.”
Aniston, meanwhile, had this message to send to Americans amid the current political divide: “We all need to listen to both sides. That’s what we’ve lost. We’ve lost communication, we’ve lost sitting across a table and having a discussion that is productive, learning from each other. It feels like everyone is sort of stuck in their positions and it’s my way or the highway, and that’s just not how the world works.”
Head over to Elle’s website to read Aniston’s latest profile in its entirety.
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From Variety US