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After Jimmy Kimmel made comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC suspended the long-running program. The move came in the wake of criticism from Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who was appointed to the agency by President Trump in November. However, the choice to suspend Kimmel has also prompted swelling backlash from the other side, with people on social media threatening to boycott the Walt Disney Company, which owns not only ABC but a sprawling empire of media and entertainment properties. Many online are vowing to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions as well as other Disney-owned platforms like ESPN and Hulu. The backlash is also spilling into the real world, with hundreds of protestersincluding writers and actorsshowing up outside Disney headquarters in Los Angeles to protest the suspension of Kimmels show and voice their support for free speech. Celebrities including Pedro Pascal, Adam Scott, and Wanda Sykes also shared their support online for Kimmel. Screenwriter and producer Damon Lindelof, who is also the cocreator of ABCs Lost, shared on Instagram that he would not work with Disney on future projects if the decision is not reversed. Marvel star Tatiana Maslany, who portrays She-Hulk in the Disney+ series, encouraged the actions of fans to cancel their Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu subscriptions following the news. ABC, which has aired Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fast Company also reached out to Hulu, ESPN, and the Walt Disney Company. Will a boycott actually work? Some analysts believe that the actual backlash against Disney might be short-lived and wont result in sustained harm to the entertainment giant, which generated $91.4 billion last year. Mike Proulx, vice president and research director for Forrester, previously published research in 2022 about cancel culture, which he still believes is relevant and rings true in this case. Whats changed since this research is that weve now seen instancesBud Light, Targetwhere concentrated consumer-organized campaigns to cancel a business can, indeed, materially affect a companys top line, but theyre still the exception, Proulx told Fast Company. Proulx said when it comes to the current calls to cancel subscriptions to Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu, hes watching to see if this will have any effect on Disneys direct-to-consumer revenue when the company reports its quarterly earnings. Whether it has a wide sweeping and lasting effect or not depends, first, on what the resolution to the Kimmel issue looks like, Proulx said. But it further depends on the willpower of those whove cancelled their subscriptions to not resubscribe.” He adds, “Chances are, when that must see movie or series that everyone is talking about hit Disney+, FOMO will win out.” Forrester’s previous research has found that threats to cancel tend to outpace actual followthrough, Proulx said. Elizabeth Parks, president and chief marketing officer of Park Associates, said Disneys biggest risk in the short-term is potentially losing advertisers, but large-scale subscriber losses for Disney+ or Hulu are unlikelyalthough it’s certainly still possible. According to research from Parks Associates, annualized churn rates for vMVPD and streaming services on average are 30% and higher, but churn rates for Disney, Hulu, and ESPN+ are relatively low at 17%, 16%, and 9%, respectively. All politics is local Parks added that if anything, the public backlash could at least impact local programming. Nexstar Communications Group, which operates 23 ABC affiliate networks, also said it would remove Jimmy Kimmel Live! starting Wednesday, with Andrew Alford, president of Nexstars broadcasting division, saying in a statement that Kimmels comments about Kirks death are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse. If theres public backlash against ABC and Disney due to show suspension, it could affect viewership of ABC network programming locally, Parks said. This could then affect ad rates or demand for slots on local ABC stations, especially in markets where ABC-affiliated stations are strong or high-rated. Meanwhile, Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at Greenlight Analytics, shared a similar sentiment, saying that while the future is uncertain, backlash against major media companies tends to be temporary. While no one has a crystal ball, my gut reaction is that, much like company controversies in the past across the media landscape, including Netflix, this will lead to temporary small-scale churn amid public backlash before returning to normalcy, Katz said. The truth of the matter is thatright or wronggeneral consumers just aren’t as phased by these periodic issues that crop up. Disney also owns Pixar, which is home to many family-friendly animated films, and Katz said that with many families looking for programming to entertain their kids, a cancellation might be a difficult decision for parents to make. Can parents reasonably explain the cancellation of Disney+ to their young kids?, Katz said. The business reality may simply outweigh the sociopolitical considerations involved. Shares of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) were down slightly on Friday, trading 1.2% lower as of late morning. Late doomers During his monologue on Mondays episode, Kimmel joked that many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk. Following the episode, Carr said that Kimmels remarks were truly sick and suggested that the FCC had a strong case against Kimmel, ABC, and the Walt Disney Company for spreading misinformation. Kimmel’s removal is another blow to late-night television following CBSs cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which came two weeks after the network settled a defamation lawsuit with President Trump. I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, Trump wrote on Truth Social following the cancellation of Colberts show. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.” But Kimmels suspension also marks a turning point in broadcast TV when it comes to free speech and censorship in entertainment. Joe Berkowitz wrote for Fast Company earlier this week that what happened to Kimmel could be seen as a warning to other TV commentators to watch what they say. On Thursday Carr appeared on CNBC saying that the FCC was not done yet with the changes in the media ecosystem.
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E-Commerce
Businesses are feeling a lot of pressure from uncertainty these days. Slipping profits, tight budgets, AI and automation, and employees worrying about layoffs. In these moments of uncertainty, your team needs a few things that they don’t teach you in business school: clarity, care, and trust. This trifecta all starts with how effective leaders communicate, especially when the chips are down. In my experience coaching global leaders, plus some lessons I’ve gathered from the evidence, heres how to do it right. 1. Acknowledge whats working without minimizing the reality Start with a yes, and mindset. Acknowledge the bad first: Yes, the business is struggling. Then follow it up with the good: And yes, were making progress where we can. This approach both respects their struggle and reinforces their impact. It’s being able to balance gloom with good: You must highlight whats working without creating a false sense of security with clichés like “Weve got this.” 2. Invite real questions and listen carefully Uncertainty breeds anxiety, and your team will often imagine the worst unless you create space for honest dialogue. Simply asking, Any questions? wont cut it; it usually produces silence because people fear judgment or repercussions. On top of that, your people are smart and can probably guess the truth before its told in a scripted all-hands meeting. So, lean into your team’s curiosity to ease their discomfort about things like layoffs and how bad things really are. Here’s what to do: Use open-ended, empathetic prompts that normalize concern, like: Whats on your mind about these changes? How is this uncertainty affecting your priorities or workload? If you were in my shoes, what would you want clarity on? If the room is quiet, dont assume people are fine. Silence often signals fear, not comfort. Follow up privately with trusted team members or lower-ranked team leads closer to the ground. 3. Respond with care even when you dont have answers Give your people clarity around what you know, what you dont, and what might change. In other words, when you communicate as a leader, focus on what the facts are, use vulnerability to share what you dont know, and give people relevant data about what could influence the outcome. The point is to ground your updates in data and visible progressnot speculation or guesswork. That’s the guidance people need to eliminate confusion and panic in rough times. 4. Model steady presence Modeling steady presence means being the emotional anchor your team needs during uncertain times. Start by being your predictable self: Dont cancel regular check-ins just because the news is tough. Watch how you speak: Keep your tone calm and body language composed (your natural tendencies when leading in calmer waters, I would hope), as people will read more into how you carry yourself than what you say. You can share the truth and acknowledge challenges honestly, but avoid dramatic language that will freak others out. You want to reinforce confidence in your team members by expressing belief in their ability to handle whats ahead. And dont neglect your own well-being. Leaders cant project steadiness if theyre running on empty. Your team will mirror your behavior. if youre calm and steady in the face of uncertainty, theyll stay calmer. When the business pivots and things aren’t looking up, your team doesnt need platitudes. They need the unfiltered truth grounded in optimism that honors their concerns. This is about trust that lasts. By Marcel Schwantes This article originally appeared on Fast Company‘s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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E-Commerce
Days after Meagan Brazil-Sheehan’s 6-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia, they were walking down the halls of UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center when they ran into Robin the Robot.“Luca, how are you?” it asked in a high-pitched voice programmed to sound like a 7-year-old girl. “It’s been awhile.”Brazil-Sheehan said they had only met the 4-foot-tall (1.2-meter-tall) robot with a large screen displaying cartoonlike features once before after they were admitted several days earlier.“His face lit up,” she said about the interaction in June in Worcester, Massachusetts. “It was so special because she remembered him.”Robin is an artificial intelligence-powered therapeutic robot programed to act like a little girl as it provides emotional support at nursing homes and hospital pediatric units while helping combat staffing shortages. Five years after launching in the U.S., it has become a familiar face in 30 health care facilities in California, Massachusetts, New York and Indiana.“Nurses and medical staff are really overworked, under a lot of pressure, and unfortunately, a lot of times they don’t have capacity to provide engagement and connection to patients,” said Karen Khachikyan, CEO of Expper Technologies, which developed the robot. “Robin helps to alleviate that part from them.”As AI increasingly becomes a part of daily life, it’s found a foothold in medical care providing everything from note-taking during exams to electronic nurses. While heralded by some for the efficiency it brings, others worry about its impact on patient care.Robin is about 30% autonomous, while a team of operators working remotely controls the rest under the watchful eyes of clinical staff. Khachikyan said that with each interaction, they’re able to collect more data while still complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA and get closer to it being able to function independently.“Imagine a pure emotional intelligence like WALL-E. We’re trying to create that,” he said, referencing the 2008 animated film. Making its rounds On a recent Friday, a staff member at HealthBridge Children’s Hospital in Orange County, California, read off a list of patients she needed Robin to visit, along with the amount of time to spend with each one.The robot with a sleek white triangle-shaped frame that Khachikyan said was designed for hugging, rolled into a room with a teenager injured in a car accident. The robot played what it described as his favorite song “No Fear” by DeJ Loaf and he danced along. In the hallway, Robin cracked up a young child held by her mother when it put on a series of silly glasses and a big red nose. In another room, the robot played a simplified version of tic-tac-toe with a patient.Samantha da Silva, speech language pathologist at the hospital, said patients light up when Robin comes into their room and not only remembers their names but their favorite music.“She brings joy to everyone,” da Silva said. “She walks down the halls, everyone loves to chat with her, say hello.”Robin mirrors the emotions of the person it is talking with, explained Khachikyan. If the patient is laughing then the robot laughs along, but if they’re sharing something difficult, its face reflects sadness and empathy.In nursing homes, Robin plays memory games with people suffering from dementia, takes them through breathing exercises on difficult days and offers them a form of companionship that resembles a grandchild with a grandparent.Khachikyan recalled a moment last year at a facility in Los Angeles where a woman was having a panic attack and asked specifically for the robot. Robin played songs by her favorite musician and videos of her favorite animal Elvis Presley and puppies until she had calmed down.But with the Association of American Medical Colleges projecting that the U.S. will face a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians in the next 11 years, Khachikyan’s vision for Robin goes far beyond this type of support.He said they’re working to make the robot able to measure patients’ vitals and check to see how they’re doing and then send that information to their medical team. Longer term plans include designing Robin to help elderly patients change their clothes and go to the bathroom.“Our goal is to design the next evolution of Robin; that Robin will take more and more responsibilities and become even more essential part of care delivery,” Khachikyan said.He clarified that it’s not about replacing health care workers but about filling in the gaps in the workforce.At UMass, the robot is very much a part of a team of support for patients. When Luca needed an IV after not getting one in a while, Micaela Cotas, a certified child life specialist came in with the robot and showed him an IV and what was about to happen, and then Robin played a cartoon of it getting an IV put in.“It just kind of helps show that Robin has gone through those procedures as well, just like a peer,” Cotas said. Finding its niche Robin was developed by Khachikyan while he was getting his Ph.D. He said growing up in a single-parent household in Armenia had been lonely, so years later he wanted to build a type of robot that could act as a person’s friend.Developers tested it in a variety of industries before an investor suggested that pediatric hospitals would be a good fit because of the stress and loneliness children often feel.“That was kind of an aha moment,” he said. “We decided, OK let’s try it.”They had success introducing it at a pediatric hospital in Armenia and by 2020 launched a pilot program at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.Since Robin was created, its personality and character have changed significantly based on the responses from people it interacts with.Khachikyan gave the example of Robin’s answer to the question: “What is your favorite animal.” Initially they tried having the robot respond with dog. They also tried cat. But when they tried chicken, the children cracked up. So they stuck with it.“We created Robin’s personality by really taking users into the equation,” he said. “So we often say that Robin was designed by users.” Associated Press journalist Damian Dovarganes contributed to this report. Hallie Golden, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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