April 28
By Dietrich Knauth
It’s the job of Walt Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro and his team to decide the group’s response to the row between the White House and ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, Disney Chair James Gorman said on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kimmel should be fired by ABC and its parent Disney, joining his wife Melania in calling out the talk show host for remarks made prior to a shooting at Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner.
Kimmel said on Monday his joke about Melania Trump, in which he said she had “a glow like an expectant widow,” referred to the difference in ages of the first lady and her husband, and that it was not a “call to assassination.”
Disney’s board chair on Tuesday said large companies from time to time face “these kinds of issues” to resolve.
“It’s the job of the CEO with their team to figure out the right answer and they’ll be guided by the board,” Gorman told a business conference in Oslo.
He declined to say what advice he or the board would give regarding the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show.
“We have a terrific new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, he’s world class so I’m sure he’ll rise to the occasion and do what the right thing is,” Gorman said.
D’Amaro took the helm at Disney last month.
The president, his wife and other senior government officials were rushed out of Saturday’s dinner after the shooting in the lobby of the Washington Hilton.