Damon Lindelof showed support for Jimmy Kimmel and said he “can’t in good conscience” work for Disney or ABC unless Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s suspension is lifted soon.
“I first heard Jimmy Kimmel on Kevin & Bean shortly after I moved to L.A. in my twenties. I was a fan of his goofy honest wit from the jump, and I never imagined we would one day be friends. I met him for the first time backstage at the ABC upfronts in 2004 … he had just seen The Lost pilot and dug it. He also said, ‘I hope you guys know what you’re doing,’” Lindelof began in an Instagram post shared on Thursday.
Lindelof went on to explain that he’s gotten to know Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, over the past “twenty years.” He also called McNearney, who serves as the co-head writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel’s “better three quarters.”
He said that anyone who knows Kimmel knows that “he is caring and empathic and grateful.”
“You know he loves his country. You know he appreciates a good roast, and he can take as good as he gives. You know he supported his crew through multiple strikes, and you know he is generous and philanthropic and most of all, you know that he is kind,” Lindelof continued. “I was shocked, saddened and infuriated by yesterday’s suspension and look forward to it being lifted soon. If it isn’t, I can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it.”
Lindelof wrapped up the post by asking his followers if they “know the difference between hate speech and a joke.” He concluded, “I think you still do. And Jimmy? You’ve ALWAYS known what you were doing. Love you and support you.”
His vow to not work with Disney or ABC comes after he worked with the company for several years. Lindelof co-created ABC’s Lost, which ran from 2004 until 2010, alongside Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams. Additionally, he served as Lost‘s co-showrunner alongside Carlton Cuse.
Lindelof is currently an executive producer and writer of HBO’s DC series Lanterns. He last worked with Disney on a Star Wars film script in 2023 but later left the project.
In late 2022, he assembled a writers room to work on a top-secret Star Wars project, that eventually was revealed to focus on Daisy Ridley’s Rey and would be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. By March 2023, he had been replaced by Steven Knight and later said Lucasfilm asked him to depart the project.
It was announced that on Wednesday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been suspended following his controversial comments about Charlie Kirk’s murder. The news came just two days after Kimmel mocked MAGA Republicans for attempting to distance their own ideologies from those of Kirk’s suspected murderer, Tyler Robinson. Following the fatal shooting of Kirk on Sept. 10, the left and the right quickly pointed fingers at each other while trying to determine Robinson’s political views.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his monologue on Monday’s episode.
Rick Porter and Aaron Couch contributed to this report.
