Sarah McLachlan and Jewel cancel performance in protest of Jimmy Kimmel suspension
Sarah McLachlan (Photo by Matthew Tsang via Getty Images)

Sarah McLachlan and Jewel cancel performance in protest of Jimmy Kimmel suspension

Dan Weiss

Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery is Ally Pankiw's documentary about Sarah McLachlan's culturally massive touring festival of the same name, which raised the profile of many women in '90s music and boosted the idea of feminism as both an important force in the entertainment world and a moneymaker in ways the industry had previously shied away from betting on. It's now streaming on Hulu, which is owned by Disney.

That last part is why two of the tour's major stars – McLachlan and Jewel – opted to cancel planned performances at the show's premiere, as part of the widespread fallout from Disney heads Bob Iger and Dana Walden capitulating to threats from Trump-appointed FCC head Brendan Carr and suspending Jimmy Kimmel. The late-night talk show host had criticized the administration's supporters in the wake of MAGA figurehead Charlie Kirk's assassination shortly before being taken off the air by his Disney-owned parent network, ABC.

Ever since the unpopular and harrowing move (even in the eyes of major Trump loyalists like Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz), Disney has lost an estimated $3.8B in revenue from mass protests and audiences unsubscribing en masse for giving into the attacks on free speech, instead of supporting the entertainment media's right to take the president and his administration to task for an overwhelming number of controversial and illegal actions.

Variety reported that press was told by ABC News publicists that the documentary's red carpet was canceled before the event at the Ford in Los Angeles. Jewel also seems to be changing gears, after performing at the widely-booed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again event earlier this year.

As of this writing on September 22, ABC has announced that Kimmel's show will return on Tuesday, Sept 23, as per The New York Times.

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