I know this is not my lane, but I just needed to get my opinion out on the recent Jimmy Kimmel/Charlie Kirk debacle. Heck, it is my platform and I write what I want! So here goes:
Firstly, I do not intend to discuss politics behind this, nor if I think it was right or wrong, but rather a fact we seem to have forgotten: Companies are not cowardly nor evil!
In the wake of Disney and ABC’s decision to remove Jimmy Kimmel for his scathing remarks on Charlie Kirk, the digital world fractured along familiar lines. One side decried the craven cowardice of a media giant caving to political pressure, another casualty of a cancel culture run amok. Others, perhaps more quietly, defended the corporation’s right to manage its brand.
Both arguments, however passionate, miss the fundamental nature of the entity they’re trying to understand. We have developed two equally flawed, almost religious, views of the corporation.
First, there are the believers, who see companies as the ultimate problem-solvers. To them, the free market is a sacred text, and any government intervention is heresy. They spend countless hours on social media justifying the every move of their corporate messiahs, be it Tesla or Apple, convinced that these entities are more than profit seekers, they are do-gooders for society.
In the opposing camp are the disbelievers, who view these same establishments as irredeemably evil. To them, every corporate action is a conspiracy to poison our water, addict our children, and hasten the collapse of civilization for the sake of evil.
The truth is that corporations are neither saviors nor demons. They are something far simpler and, in a way, more unnerving: they are completly amoral.
It feels strange to have to state this, but a company’s core motive is profit. This isn’t because its leaders are soulless ghouls, but because profit is the scorecard by which the game of capitalism is played. It is the raw, evolutionary force that determines survival. When profits fall, companies don't just have a bad quarter; they face extinction. The firms that survive and thrive are simply those best adapted to extracting profit from the marketplace.
Most of us understand this principle perfectly in the context of sports. When Manchester United defeats Tottenham, we don't label them a malicious force. Nor do we praise them for advancing the greater good of their supporters. They are a football club, and their reason for being is to win football matches. If they stop winning, the system is ruthless. The manager is fired, players are sold, and fans drift away until the organization either finds a way to win again or fades into obscurity.
A corporation is just as simple-minded. Its playing field is vastly more complex than a soccer pitch, but the objective is the same. Win. And winning is measured in profit.
This is where the analogy becomes critical to our current political and economic dysfunction. People despise the referee, but without one, football would be an unwatchable, unplayable mess of broken legs and bad blood. The referee’s job is to enforce a set of rules that ensures the simple goal of winning doesn’t destroy the game itself; and, by extension, the players and the fans.
In capitalism, that referee is supposed to be the government and the legal institutions surrounding it. Its role is to establish regulations and enforce laws that channel the relentless corporate drive for profit in ways that, at a minimum, do not harm society and, at their best, actively benefit it. Right now, we are living in an era where the referee is heckled, ignored, and often captured by the teams themselves.
So, what does this tell us about Disney firing Jimmy Kimmel?
It tells us their decision wasn’t about courage, cowardice, or even free speech. It was a strategic move in a high-stakes game. With a major corporate merger reportedly hanging in the balance, subject to government approval, Disney did what any rational, profit-seeking entity would do: it minimized a variable that threatened its primary objective. They didn’t sideline Kimmel because they are evil, but because his presence became a liability on their path to a larger victory.
If you are truly angry about this, your outrage on social media is ultimately irrelevant to the players on the field. They don’t respond to slogans; they respond to incentives and penalties. You have only two sources of real power here: your wallet and your vote. One changes the flow of profit, and the other helps choose the referee. Use them wisely.
I'll be voting with my wallet.