In what appears to be a growing backlash to Disney’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Sarah McLachlan said she and other scheduled performers at Sunday night’s (Sept. 21) premiere of the doc Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery would not be taking the stage in a show of support for free speech.
“It’s a gift for all of us to see [this film], but also I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with, the stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech,” McLachlan said in a statement at the premiere of the documentary that chronicles her launch of the history-making all-female touring music festival in 1997.
McLachlan did not specifically mention Kimmel or his suspension, but it seemed clear what she was referring to as the Lilith doc is airing on the Disney-owned Hulu; Disney is also the parent company of ABC.
“I know you’re expecting a performance tonight, and I’m so grateful to all of you for coming, and I apologize if this is disappointing, but we have collectively decided not to perform but instead to stand in solidarity in support of free speech,” McLachlan added after she and Jewel were expected to perform at the premiere. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the invitation to the premiere did not specify who was slated to perform, but only promised “special surprise performances,” with a source telling the magazine that McLachlan and Jewel were slated to take the stage with another surprise guest.
“I think we’re all fearful for what comes next, and none of us know, but what I do know is that I have to keep pushing forward as an artist, as a woman to find a way through, and though I don’t begin to know what the answer is, I believe we all need to work towards a softening to let in the possibility of a better way, because I see music as a bridge to our shared humanity, to finding common ground,” McLachlan added.
McLachlan then leaned into the lessons she said she’d learned from launching the Lilith Fair at a time when promoters and naysayers told her that audiences did not want to attend a show with more than one female headliner. “If Lilith taught me anything, it taught me there is a great strength in coming together to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down,” she said. “So I really hope this documentary inspires everyone to continue to try and create positive change in your communities, to keep lifting each other up, keep championing the causes you believe in with kindness and empathy because ultimately we’re all in this together.”
Amid calls for boycotts of its amusement parks, streaming service and related businesses, the scotched performances at The Ford in L.A. were the first notable public fallout for Disney after it suspended Kimmel’s show last week following his monologue jokes about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“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 in the monologue of his Sept. 15 show in comments that appeared to drew the ire of the Trump administration and many on the right as investigators continue to search for the motive in the shooting.
After station owners Nexstar and Sinclair said they would be pre-empting Kimmel in the wake of the comments, ABC parent company Disney said it would suspend the show indefinitely. The decision has set off a firestorm of controversy, drawing backlash and outrage from fellow late night hosts, A-list actors and free speech advocates who fear the move is a capitulation to the Trump administration and an erosion of the nation’s bedrock free speech rights.
Olivia Rodrigo, who appears in the Lilith film, took to her socials over the weekend to voice her frustration over Kimmel’s suspension, saying she was, “so upset over this blatant censorship and abuse of power. I stand with Jimmy Kimmel and I stand for freedom of speech.”
