Disney investors say handling of Jimmy Kimmel suspension put politics over shareholders, demand records

A group of Disney investors is demanding access to company records, alleging that the entertainment giant's handling of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's suspension reflected political pressures rather than the best interests of shareholders.

In a letter sent Wednesday to CEO Bob Iger, lawyers representing the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions, and Reporters Without Borders said they are seeking board materials, communications and policies related to the suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" 

The investor groups argue that the decision was driven by threats from federal regulators and broadcast affiliates, rather than a business calculation to benefit shareholders.

"Disney's stock suffered significant declines in response to the abrupt suspension, which appeared to be in response to political threats," the investors wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Semafor.

Disney shares fell 3.3% from Sept. 17, the day after Kimmel was suspended, through this past Monday. Kimmel was pulled from the air after his Sept. 15 monologue addressing the politicization of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The host returned to ABC on Tuesday, though affiliates representing about a quarter of U.S. households, including Nexstar and Sinclair stations, didn't carry the program.

Disney stock from 9/17

The investors seek board minutes, internal communications, affiliate agreements and analyses of the financial impact of the suspension.

"There is a credible basis to suspect that the Board and executives may have breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty, care, and good faith by placing improper political or affiliate considerations above the best interests of the Company and its stockholders," the investors said in the letter.

One of the lawyers representing the investors is Roberta Kaplan, best known for winning writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against Donald Trump.

"A bedrock of the United States and the key to our survival as the world's oldest democracy is freedom of speech," Kaplan said in a statement to CNBC. "The government cannot and should not threaten to punish someone simply because it does not like what they have to say. And while large media companies have been at the front lines, they too should not succumb to unconstitutional threats or blackmail."

— CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed reporting.