WGA Statement on ABC’s Decision to Pull Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Los Angeles and New York – The following is a statement from the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE):

The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice.

As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn't have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to – painful as it may be at times – is the freeing agreement to disagree.

Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world.

The WGA stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his writers.

The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) are labor unions of writers working in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America West, visit www.wga.org.