Part 6/11:
As the controversy escalated, the pressure mounted. More than fifty local ABC affiliates pulled the show or expressed their discontent, and key advertising partners threatened to boycott the program entirely. Because of this mounting pressure and the potential risk to Disney's reputation and revenue, ABC and Disney made the decision to suspend Kimmel temporarily.
It's important to clarify that Kimmel was not formally fired but suspended. The decision was driven largely by the combination of advertiser pullback, affiliate discontent, and the threat of widespread cancellations across the country.