When Michael Eisner—the man who ran Disney like a fiefdom for two decades—calls you out for lacking spine, you should probably listen.
The former Disney CEO has condemned television networks for settling lawsuits with Donald Trump over coverage of Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night hosts. "You don't negotiate with bullies," Eisner said in a recent interview. Coming from a guy not exactly known as a profile in courage during his own tenure, that's saying something.
But he's not wrong. Multiple networks have quietly paid settlements to avoid prolonged legal battles over their late-night programming. The precedent this sets is dangerous: Criticize the powerful, get sued, pay up, move on. That's not how a free press is supposed to function.
What makes this particularly rich is that Eisner—who famously clashed with critics, employees, and pretty much everyone else during his Disney years—is now positioning himself as a defender of editorial independence. The man who tried to kill Roger Ebert's show because Ebert gave Pearl Harbor a bad review is lecturing people about standing up to intimidation.
Still, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. The networks caving to these lawsuits sends a clear message: We'll defend our journalism right up until it costs us money. Then we'll settle and pretend it never happened.
Hollywood has always been a business first and an art form second. But there used to be some understanding that you don't let bullies rewrite the rules just because they've got lawyers. Eisner remembers that era, even if he wasn't always on the right side of it.
The question is whether anyone currently running these networks does. Based on the settlements, the answer appears to be no.
