More than 400 actors, musicians, and other creatives have signed an open letter organized by the American Civil Liberties Union condemning Donald Trump’s crackdown on free speech, including the FCC’s recent pressure campaign that compelled ABC to take Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air.
“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country,” the letter reads.
“Last week, Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after the government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation. In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk show hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers across the board. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.”
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Among the signatories are actors Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Florence Pugh, Pedro Pascal, Jennifer Aniston, Michael Keaton, Judd Apatow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Regina King, Kirsten Dunst, Noah Wyle, Joaquin Phoenix, Diego Luna, Martin Short, Alison Brie, Timothy Olyphant, Joe Keery, and Jim Parsons; and musicians Olivia Rodrigo, “Weird” Al Yankovic, Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz, Cyndi Lauper, and Sheryl Crow.
Here is the full letter:
“We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.
Last week, Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after the government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation. In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk show hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers across the board. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.
We know this moment is bigger than us and our industry. Teachers, government employees, law firms, researchers, universities, students and so many more are also facing direct attacks on their freedom of expression.
Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power – because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.
This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.”