Zohran Mamdani withdraws from ABC town hall in Kimmel protest

Zohran Mamdani, the New York Democratic mayoral candidate, has announced he is withdrawing from a televised town hall hosted by a local ABC station in protest of the network’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s talkshow.

ABC indefinitely pulled Kimmel’s late-night show off air on 17 September after the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses if the network did not act against Kimmel. Kimmel had criticized the Trump administration’s reaction to the killing of rightwing youth organizer Charlie Kirk.

The suspension sparked backlash from politicians, media figures and free-speech organizations, and it has prompted boycotts and protests against both ABC and its parent company, Disney.

Mamdani, who was set to participate in a town hall event with New York’s WABC on Thursday, said he would no longer take part.

“I am withdrawing not as an indictment of the local affiliate or the hard-working journalists, but rather in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press,” Mamdani said on Monday during a news conference.

“We cannot understand this moment of authoritarianism as solely coming from the White House, when it is also characterized by the cowardice of those in response to it.”

He also mentioned his opponents in the mayoral race, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Eric Adams. The Trump administration has reportedly explored offering Adams a position in exchange for the incumbent’s dropping out of the race, with polling suggesting the contest would tighten in favor of Cuomo, whom the president prefers to Mamdani.

Mamdani said: “I am running to be the next mayor of the city to finally make clear what it looks like to stand up, not just for this city, but also for the constitution.

“We have to understand who suffers in these moments. It’s not just a question of Jimmy Kimmel himself, it’s also a question of the engineers, the writers, the musicians who are feeling this attack on the very city they call home. The message that it sends to each and every American across this country is a message that [free speech] is no longer a right that can be counted on, but rather that it is the government which will determine what should and should not be discussed, what can and cannot be spoken.”

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.

On Friday, Variety reported that Disney and Kimmel were working on a compromise that would bring his talkshow back on air.

Meanwhile, a report from Front Office Sports explored some potential complications to such a compromise. The outlet reported that Disney could be facing a choice between putting Kimmel back on air and completing a multibillion-dollar deal with the National Football League to swap the NFL Network, RedZone brand, NFL Fantasy Football and other media assets for a 10% stake in Disney-owned sportscaster ESPN.

Mamdani, a state assembly member from Queens, won the Democratic nomination in June, defeating Cuomo. With less than two months until the 4 November general election, Mamdani has continued to hold a commanding lead in the polls.

A recent poll showed Mamdani with 43% support among registered New York City voters. Cuomo, who is now running as an independent, received 28% support in the poll.

Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa polled at 10% support, and Adams, also running as an independent, polled at 8%. Nine percent of respondents said they were still undecided.

Kathy Hochul, the Democratic New York governor, has endorsed Mamdani in his race to become the next mayor of one of the world’s most prominent cities.