Jimmy Kimmel's Overlooked Staff Will Be Paid as His Suspension Continues

I make this joke a lot, but it does feel like it’s been at least a month since Jimmy Kimmel was suspended for daring to say something the current administration did not like. They already had their sights set on the comedian, and he gave them an excuse. It’s a blatant disregard for Kimmel’s First Amendment rights, as the Government leaned on companies like Nexstar, which owns many local affiliates that carry Kimmel, to go after the host.

As John Oliver noted last night, it all happened out in the open. It’s the worst kind of wannabe mafioso nonsense, so ridiculous that even Ted Cruz had to call it what it was: a shakedown. It’s all incredibly frustrating, and made even more so by another fact that is getting overlooked: Jimmy Kimmel isn’t the only person who works at Jimmy Kimmel: Live.

Kimmel’s show employs 200-250 people. That includes writers, crew members, front office folks, craft services, and the like. That’s a large operation with a lot of jobs. A lot is going on in this story, and that will continue to be the case, as it has massive implications for the rest of the country. Still, it has felt like Kimmel’s staff has been overlooked in all of this.

Luckily, some good news emerged this morning, which may be ABC trying to get the tiniest amount of goodwill they can muster. Kimmel’s staff was informed that they would be paid this week. That is some welcome news in a time of uncertainty. No one knows where this whole fiasco will lead. Many of the people employed at Kimmel’s show may well be out of a job. For now, they at least know they have some security for the week.

Ideally, ABC is continuing the payment because it wants to continue the show. Regardless, the fact that they’re paying doesn’t make its way to Deadline unless they want it to. They want it to appear that they’re playing nice because what they’ve done has been wildly unpopular. The people you expect to be celebrating definitely are, but Ted Cruz isn’t the only right-wing dweeb to call this out for what it is.

Things will likely get worse before they get better, but this is good. While it doesn’t feel like it’s done for the right reasons, this is the right thing to do. Now, we just have to hope that Disney caves to the public pressure being put on them by, among many people, Disney Adults. They have to crack eventually, right?