Jamie Lee Curts has joined hundreds of other actors in signing an open letter to the ACLU condemning Disney’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has stepped up to protect Free Speech, which is a constitutional right in the USA and guaranteed right in Canada, according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Jamie Lee Curtis, along with hundreds of other actors, including colleagues Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Bryan Cranston, and Robert De Niro all signed an Open Letter to the ACLU condemning Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.

“We the people must never accept government threats to our Freedom of Speech.”

Others of the four hundred signatories include Jason Bateman and Martin Short. They signed an Open Letter with the American Civil Liberties Union protesting Disney’s decision to pull late night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show off of its schedule and warning of the ramifications on Americans’ right to speak freely.

If we don’t have freedom of expression, are we truly Americans?

The letter says that efforts to pressure artists, journalists, and others with retaliation for their speech ‘strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country,’ and closes by calling on all Americans to defend the right to speak freely.”

Why Do We Want the Right to Laugh at Politicians?

Snce the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans, playwrights and actors have mocked those in power. As Scott Brookes pointed out:

“Throughout history, humor has been the Achilles’ heel of every oppressive system. No matter how tight their grip on power, tyrants and authoritarians cannot withstand the sting of a well-timed joke or the viral spread of a biting meme. Laughter is subversive, unifying, and disarming—it has toppled egos, shattered facades, and brought people together in ways no speech or manifesto could.”

Alan Dean Foster, whom has had his own problems with Disney explained in his Star Wars book Splinter of the Mind’s Eye “totalitarian governments must have censorship, because a painting, a book, or a symphony can be a manifesto of protest.  Under the Galactic Empire, art and literature had become boring.  When Leia found out why she was bored, she naturally fell into rebellion.”

Dr. George Takei is fighting against censorship as honorary chair of Banned Books Week. Science fiction fans must stand together to support free speech

Free speech isn’t just something for actors and authors. Free Speech is the right of every American, but only if we work together to keep it.