They cancelled me, stole my life’s work,
perverted it.
I was absolutely vilified, and I decided
to take that legal route.
And it’s just sometimes people have to
distance themselves. It’s business.
ABC’s biggest stars have finally had
enough and walked away for good. After
years of canceled shows and stolen work,
they’re now signing huge deals with NBC.
Deals that offer everything ABC did. But
it’s what they’re planning to do next
that will leave you in shock. The
Breaking Point at ABC. For decades, ABC
cultivated an image as one of America’s
most reliable television institutions.
It was the network of family dramas,
prime time soaps, daytime talk
powerhouses, and late night comedic
institutions. Yet, by the middle of the
2020s, its reputation had undergone a
violent transformation. The company that
once projected stability now stood
accused by its own stars of
authoritarian micromanagement, cowardly
political capitulation, and a
suffocating culture of censorship. A
steady stream of public controversies
hardened into a collective breaking
point, producing an unprecedented
revolt. The fallout was not quiet, not
polite, and certainly not handled behind
closed doors. Instead, actors,
producers, and talk show hosts began
exiting in a coordinated wave,
punctuated by one defiant declaration.
ABC can kiss our ass. The unraveling of
ABC’s control began most visibly with
its daytime juggernaut, The View. The
panel show had weathered years of
criticism for its combative style. But
in the eyes of its talent, the pressure
from corporate headquarters reached
intolerable levels. Executives initiated
what they described as an internal
review into the show’s liberal bias. The
framing was bureaucratic, but to hosts
and former hosts, the subtext was
unmistakable. Censorship dressed as
balance. Rosie O’Donnell, who had spent
years locked in battles with the
network, said plainly that cancellation
loomed behind the euphemisms.
So, apparently, Rosie Odona is warning
that ABC might be getting ready to pull
the plug on The View. For the cast, this
was confirmation of a long building
pattern. O’Donnell herself had warned in
other interviews that networks were
caving to political intimidation and
bribery. In one widely circulated clip,
she framed the industry as compromised.
This is what they do. They try to
silence the artists. They try to silence
the truth tellers.
When she alleged that networks like ABC
had paid out millions under legal
threats only to bow further to pressure,
the picture crystallized. From the
vantage point of the talent, ABC was no
longer a creative partner. It was an
adversary. Inside the view’s daily
routine, this perception grew
unbearable. Meetings that were once
animated by ideas for interviews, debate
topics, or cultural commentary now
bogged down in legal disclaimers and
directives. According to production
staff, nearly every segment required
legal notes to be attached to the
teleprompter. What was once spontaneous
conversation began resembling a scripted
courtroom. Sunonny Host, who joined the
panel as a legal expert, was said to be
privately frustrated that her own
commentary was subjected to disclaimers
before the words left her mouth. Joy
Beihar reportedly described the sessions
as death by a thousand lawyers. Whoopy
Goldberg, the show’s longest serving
anchor, grew disillusioned that her
comedic timing was continuously undercut
by interruptions demanding corrections
or clarifications. As the view
fractured, ABC’s scripted division was
battling its own crisis. Gay’s Anatomy,
once the network’s crown jewel, had left
scars on its cast. Isaiah Washington’s
firing in 2007 was an open wound still
discussed years later. He recounted how
his dismissal transformed him from an
award-winning actor into what he called
a cultural scapegoat.
The poster child for an agenda, which I
actually support,
and public shaming when she was branded
difficult by executives and colleagues.
For years, she admitted she internalized
the narrative until she learned to
reject it.
I literally believed
that version and felt such shame for
such a long time and then had to go,
wait, wait, who’s who am I listening to?
I’m not even listening to myself.
The label of difficult had derailed her
trajectory and became a cautionary tale
across the industry. For performers like
Hygel, ABC was no longer a gateway to
stardom. It was the factory of stigma.
Elsewhere, Nichollet Sheridan’s legal
war with ABC over her treatment on
Desperate Housewives hardened into a
symbol of the network’s cruelty. She
recalled how coming forward with her
allegations left her ostracized.
For me, when I spoke out of being being
the victim of assault and battery, I was
absolutely vilified. Sheridan’s fight
left her estranged from former
colleagues and in her view blacklisted
by the industry. To her and others who
experienced similar retaliation, NBC’s
eventual courtship represented not just
an employment opportunity, but
vindication. Even scandal, ABC’s buzzy
political drama produced its casualties.
Columbus Short’s departure was widely
reported as a response to his off-screen
troubles. But in his own telling, the
separation was as much about ABC
distancing itself from reputational risk
as it was about justice. And it was just
like at the time what was going on was
just so ridiculous. So I had to go to
jail and it was ridiculous. You know
what I mean? All over something
erroneous. I never put my hands on a
woman ever. My character has been
assassinated.
Short emphasized that ABC treated the
situation as a political campaign
cutting ties to protect its image while
leaving him to absorb the fallout. The
cumulative effect of these stories was a
network reputation for abandonment and
betrayal. Talent who encountered
trouble, whether from politics, personal
controversy, or disputes with
executives, found themselves discarded
with remarkable speed. ABC’s culture was
increasingly seen as one of appeasement.
Appeasement of advertisers, appeasement
of political figures, appeasement of
critics, but never of the performers
themselves. The tipping point arrived
when whispers began spreading that ABC
was exploring sweeping changes across
its political and comedic programming.
Executives privately debated whether to
reduce exposure for controversial hosts,
scale back late night segments, and
place restrictions on political
commentary. Jimmy Kimmel, long one of
ABC’s late night anchors, was even
scrutinized for remarks viewed as
crossing lines. The implication for
stars across the network was clear.
Every word could now be weaponized,
every sentence subject to punishment.
Rosie O’Donnell articulated the
psychological toll of working under
those conditions when she described her
decision to step away, citing the health
consequences of relentless stress. But
when I told Disney, I said, “Listen, I’m
having way too much stress, and my
doctor has recommended that I not do a
daily show anymore.”
For her, the choice was survival. For
others, the realization was that ABC’s
environment itself was unsustainable. At
precisely this moment of maximum
disillusionment, NBC made its move.
Executives at NBC Universal had been
studying ABC’s decline carefully,
waiting for the moment to strike. Their
strategy was calculated. poach ABC’s
disaffected stars by offering not only
larger paychecks, but freedom. NBC
branded itself as the network willing to
embrace controversy, willing to house
polarizing figures, and willing to
prioritize cultural relevance over
sanitized conformity. The first
conversations were deliberately quiet.
Nichollet Sheridan was contacted through
her representatives with a promise of
creative autonomy. Katherine Higgel was
approached with the offer of roles that
would not be micromanaged by a network
intent on controlling her image. Rosie
O’Donnell was told she could produce a
politically unapologetic talk show
without scripted disclaimers undermining
her delivery. Columbus Short was
reassured that his past would not
disqualify him from future
opportunities. NBC framed itself as the
home of reclamation, where the discarded
could thrive. The outreach escalated
rapidly. Within weeks, agents
representing ABC veterans reported a
surge of interest from NBC recruiters.
Multi-year deals worth tens of millions
were dangled before performers who only
months earlier felt exiled. For actors
who had spent years fending off whispers
of being difficult, toxic, or
blacklisted, these offers were
transformative. The decisive moment came
in Los Angeles, where a private
gathering of disaffected ABC alumni
reportedly took place. Sources described
a celebratory mood with champagne toasts
and frank conversations about years of
mistreatment. The rallying cry that
emerged from that evening spread quickly
among their circles. ABC can kiss our
ass. It was repeated with catharsis,
with humor, and with rage. It became
both slogan and manifesto. Inside ABC
headquarters, panic spread. The
entertainment division convened
emergency meetings to stem the exodus.
Executives attempted to reassure
remaining talent that reforms were
underway, that creative freedom would be
respected, that new guidelines were
being drafted to prevent overreach. But
the credibility deficit was too severe
for performers whose careers had already
been derailed. Those assurances rang
hollow. The scars of vilification,
lawsuits, and dismissals could not be
erased with promises. By the close of
the quarter, the scope of the revolt was
undeniable. Agents were pulling clients,
contracts were being terminated early,
and press leaks confirmed that NBC was
finalizing new deals. The entertainment
press buzzed with rumors of a mass
migration unseen since the golden age of
television. ABC, long accustomed to
being a star-making factory, was now
hemorrhaging the very talent that
defined its legacy. The entertainment
world now braced for the public reveal,
whose names would be on the first wave
of NBC’s contracts. which stars would go
public with their denunciations of ABC
and how far would the rebellion spread.
What was clear was that the balance of
network power was about to shift
violently. The breaking point had
arrived and for ABC, the nightmare was
only beginning. The revolt goes public.
When the first rumors of ABC stars
defecting to NBC began circulating
inside Hollywood’s inner circles, the
public knew nothing. The meetings, the
private dinners, the signed intent
letters, all of it had been cloaked in
silence. But as the weeks wore on, the
pressure could not be contained behind
closed doors. What had begun as private
negotiations exploded into full public
revolt. The actors and hosts who once
sustained ABC’s prestige now took to
interviews, podcasts, and social media,
blasting the network with unprecedented
ferocity. For ABC executives, this was
the worst case scenario. The disgruntled
voices they had once tried to contain
were now speaking in surround sound,
amplified across every platform. The
first major detonation came from
Roseanne Bar, who had already lived
through a public execution at the hands
of ABC years earlier. Her firing in 2018
over social media remarks had been one
of the most sensational cancellations in
modern television. Yet, Bar herself
maintained that what happened was far
more sinister than disciplinary action.
She accused ABC of not merely cutting
ties, but of erasing her cultural legacy
altogether.
They didn’t try to cancel me. They
canled me, stole my life’s work,
perverted it just just to show me that I
better keep my mouth shut and killed
assassinated
my character who was kind of America’s
mom.
Her bitterness only deepened with time.
In her telling, ABC not only removed her
from the air, but sought to rewrite
history, stripping her contributions
from the cultural memory of American
television. She described her
blacklisting as a systemic silencing of
older women in the industry, a purge
designed to make examples of those who
refused to conform. By the time NBC
approached her, Bar was ready not merely
to return to television, but to wage war
against the network that had exiled her.
Next came Rosie O’Donnell, again at the
center of controversy, but this time
speaking with more urgency than ever
before. Having already warned that ABC’s
review of The View was a precursor to
cancellation. Oddonnell broadened her
attack. She claimed that the network’s
capitulation to political pressure
represented nothing less than the
corrosion of American democracy. In a
televised discussion, she explained why
she left the United States altogether.
And I left before the inauguration on
purpose because for 20 years, he’s been
using me as a punchline in all of his
jokes. And uh he’s a very unbalanced
individual and it’s very dangerous to be
in uh his target range. O’Donnell
revealed that ABC’s entanglement with
political intimidation was so severe
that she feared for her safety and the
well-being of her child. Her remarks
resonated because they reframed the
exodus not merely as a matter of
entertainment contracts, but as a moral
confrontation with authoritarianism.
ABC, once seen as a pillar of free
expression, was now characterized as an
enforcer of silence. As O’Donnell and
Bar unleashed their accusations, another
wave of voices entered the fray.
Columbus Short, whose departure from
scandal had been shrouded in rumors of
legal trouble, sought to reclaim his
narrative. He granted interviews in
which he clarified that while mistakes
were made in his personal life, the
decision to sever ties with ABC had been
driven as much by optics as by truth. In
his words, ABC treated his situation as
a liability to be managed rather than a
human being to be supported.
As far, you know, as ABC was concerned,
I think you look at it as like a
presidential campaign. If there’s some
stuff that’s kind of messing up the
campaign, you start losing support. and
um and it’s just sometimes people have
to distance themselves.
Short emphasized that ABC’s approach was
calculated, political, and
transactional. The network, he claimed,
had no interest in nuance or context.
For him, NBC’s offers represented a
chance to demonstrate resilience to
prove that reputational exile at ABC was
not a career death sentence. The revolt
was not limited to scripted dramas and
daytime talk. ABC’s late night division
also fell under scrutiny when Jimmy
Kimmel’s program faced backlash over
controversial commentary. In one viral
segment, Kimmel mocked political
hypocrisy in the aftermath of a national
tragedy. His critics demanded ABC
reprimand him, and whispers circulated
that the show’s future was in jeopardy.
The incident added fuel to the narrative
that ABC’s late night hosts were no
longer safe to express unfiltered
opinions.
This is not how an adult grieavves the
murder of someone he called a friend.
This is how a four-year-old mourns a
goldfish.
Kimmel’s defenders argued that comedy
must push boundaries, but ABC’s silence
on the matter spoke volumes to many
inside the industry. to outspoken hosts.
The network’s willingness to bend under
pressure confirmed Oddonnell’s warnings.
The sense of suffocation grew so strong
that even long tenur staffers began
confiding to reporters that they were
updating resumes. Meanwhile, Isaiah
Washington reemerged with even sharper
critiques of the culture that had
defined his departure from Gayy’s
Anatomy. In addition to describing how
he became the poster child for
controversy, he emphasized the career
destruction that followed. He recounted
how Hollywood abandoned him overnight,
transforming him from a rising star into
a pariah. He explained that his
ostracism revealed how fragile black
success in the industry could be.
Yeah, I lost everything. But the
what happened to Spike Le and you know
the people that
Nobody was there. Nobody wanted to touch
me. It was it was gone. Everybody.
Washington reframed his ordeal as
emblematic of systemic forces. He argued
that networks like ABC were quick to
exploit black talent for ratings, but
equally quick to discard them at the
first hint of controversy. His decision
to sign with NBC was cast as an act of
reclamation, not just of his career, but
of his dignity. As these testimonies
piled up, ABC’s defenses crumbled.
Public relations team scrambled to issue
statements insisting that the network
remained committed to diversity, free
speech, and talent development. Yet
every attempt at damage control was
immediately undermined by fresh attacks
from the very stars who had once carried
ABC’s programming. The narrative of
betrayal was too strong, the pattern of
exile too clear. NBC, sensing an
opportunity for maximum impact, began
encouraging the revolt to go public.
Executives quietly signaled to talent
that their grievances should not be
muted, but amplified. Every public
denunciation of ABC, every viral clip of
a former star describing mistreatment
functioned as free advertising for NBC’s
new programming slate. The network’s
calculation was ruthless. ABC’s pain was
NBC’s gain. The revolt crescendoed with
Bar, Oddonnell, Washington, Short,
Higgel, and others hinting openly that
new deals had been signed. While the
specifics were not yet disclosed, the
subtext was unmistakable. ABC was
bleeding stars, and NBC was building an
arsenal of outspoken voices ready to
redefine television. But the revolt was
not only about individuals reclaiming
their careers. It was also about
solidarity. Nichollet Sheridan, whose
lawsuit against ABC had left her
isolated years earlier, now found
herself vindicated as others told
similar stories of vilification. She
explained that when she once dared to
speak out, she had been left alone in
her fight. But now in the collective
revolt, she saw a united front.
It was such a such a weight that was
lifted off me because I felt so alone in
my fight against the machine. That
machine in the eyes of the defectors was
ABC. A company once synonymous with
opportunity was now synonymous with
censorship, abandonment, and betrayal.
And the exiles were no longer whispering
their grievances in private. They were
proclaiming them on national platforms.
The revolt had gone public. The next
stage would be the reveal of the new
empire being built at NBC, NBC’s new
empire. As the dust from ABC’s talent
exodus settled, the industry braced for
the revelation of where the defectors
would land. Insiders had whispered for
months about NBC’s strategy, but now the
contracts were finalized and the
announcements began rolling out in
coordinated waves. What emerged was not
simply a series of casting moves. It was
a tectonic shift in network power
engineered with military precision. NBC
had constructed an empire from ABC’s
castoffs, transforming exiled talent
into the foundation of a new programming
slate designed to dominate prime time,
daytime, and late night simultaneously.
The unveiling began with Rosie
O’Donnell, whose voice had been at the
forefront of the revolt. NBC positioned
her not merely as a host, but as a
cultural figurehead. She was given a
multi-year deal to headline a prime time
hybrid talk and documentary program, one
that promised editorial freedom without
the scripted disclaimers that had
strangled her at ABC. Oddonnell framed
the show as both a career revival and an
act of resistance against corporate
censorship. In a previous interview, she
had tied the suppression of entertainers
directly to the decay of democratic
values. They took all of these amazing
pundits off the television. Terry Moran,
Jim Acasta, and you know, once ABC and
CBS
gave in to the bribery, gave in to the
blackmail that Trump threatened them
with lawsuits that were bogus, and they
gave him millions of dollars. As soon as
that happened, they’re done as a media
company.
NBC capitalized on her narrative,
marketing her as the unfiltered truth
teller ABC could no longer contain. Next
came Nichollet Sheridan, whose legal
battles with ABC over desperate
housewives had once left her vilified.
NBC cast her as the lead in a new
prestige drama centered on themes of
resilience and reinvention. The
symbolism was unmistakable. Sheridan,
who had testified to feeling abandoned
during her lawsuit, now stood front and
center on a rival network. She had
described the sense of isolation during
her ordeal.
It was such a such a weight that was
lifted off me because I felt so alone in
my fight against the machine. NBC
leveraged her testimony in promotional
materials, framing her return as both a
personal triumph and a rebuke to the
system that had once silenced her.
Katherine Higgel’s role in the NBC slate
was equally strategic. Long branded as
difficult, Higgel had spoken openly
about reclaiming her identity after
years of shame.
Wait, wait, who’s who am I listening to?
I’m not even listening to myself. I know
who I am.
NBC seized on this narrative, presenting
her not as a liability, but as an icon
of self-determination. She was attached
to both scripted projects and executive
producer roles, signaling that her voice
would not be muted behind the camera
either. For NBC, Higgel’s reclamation
story provided a powerful counterpoint
to ABC’s record of stigmatization.
Isaiah Washington’s return to television
through NBC was perhaps the most
dramatic. While his exit from Gayy’s
Anatomy had been cast as Scandal,
Washington had since redefined himself
through humanitarian work, particularly
in Sierra Leone. He had spoken about his
role in building schools and providing
opportunities for thousands. I’m
representing 6 million people, 6,000
villages as a chief gond my village and
I’ve already saved lives.
NBC framed his new deal not simply as an
acting comeback but as the platforming
of a global statesman. He was tapped to
develop both scripted and unscripted
programming that would draw on his dual
identity as actor and humanitarian. In
press releases, NBC highlighted his
transformation from exile to ambassador,
contrasting his new role with ABC’s
abandonment. Columbus Short also secured
a new chapter at NBC. Once dismissed by
ABC as a liability during his scandal
exit, Short was now granted an
opportunity to shape projects from the
ground up. His deal emphasized not just
acting, but producing, a chance to
control his narrative after years of
being defined by controversy. Short’s
comments about ABC treating him like a
disposable campaign issue, not a human
being, resonated deeply. NBC positioned
him as a cautionary tale turned success
story, proof that talent silenced by one
network could thrive under another. Even
Late Night underwent transformation.
NBC, already dominant in the space with
the Tonight Show, experimented with
giving slots to voices once deemed too
incendiary for ABC. Former contributors,
comedians, and political commentators
were invited into development meetings,
testing formats that combined satire
with advocacy. The intent was clear. NBC
wanted to capture the cultural lightning
ABC had once commanded, but squandered
under the weight of disclaimers and
compromises. Roseanne Bar’s role was
perhaps the most controversial, but also
the most explosive. NBC gave her a
platform to develop a scripted sitcom
loosely based on her own life after
cancellation. A fictionalized account of
a woman erased by one network, clawing
her way back through another. Bar framed
it as both comedy and catharsis. She had
long claimed ABC not only fired her but
erased her entirely.
I have been blacklisted. Can’t get a
job, you know,
and also erased from popular culture.
NBC embraced the controversy,
calculating that bar’s divisiveness
would translate into ratings. The roll
out of these deals was choreographed to
maximize damage to ABC. Each
announcement was timed to coincide with
ABC premieres or press events, siphoning
attention away from the rival network.
Trade publications noted how NBC’s press
releases often quoted directly from the
stars past criticisms of ABC, turning
their grievances into marketing copy.
The message was unmistakable. NBC was
the home of freedom. ABC the home of
censorship. The cultural impact was
immediate. ABC’s ratings wobbled as
audiences began to perceive the network
as hollowed out. its stars defecting on
mass. Critics noted how ABC’s attempts
to replace the departed talent felt like
pale imitations, stand-ins without the
credibility or charisma of their
predecessors. Meanwhile, NBC’s
announcements dominated entertainment
news cycles, reframing the narrative of
its once struggling network into one of
resurgence. Beyond ratings, the revolt
reshaped the psychology of Hollywood
itself. For years, ABC had been seen as
a launching pad for careers, a place
where stars could secure mainstream
recognition. Now, it was viewed as a
cautionary tale. Agents advised clients
to negotiate exit clauses more
aggressively, wary of ABC’s reputation
for abandonment. Young actors whispered
that signing with ABC felt like a risk,
not a privilege. The revolt had
rewritten the calculus of network
loyalty. Rosie O’Donnell, in one of her
most searing interviews during this
period, articulated the stakes. She
argued that ABC’s collapse under
political and financial pressure was
emblematic of a larger crisis. I feel
like we’re in a dystopian nightmare and
no one is doing anything about it.
NBC amplified her framing, branding
itself not just as a television network,
but as a bastion of resistance. Isaiah
Washington’s humanitarian identity
further underscored the cultural stakes.
His projects with NBC promised not just
entertainment but education designed to
spotlight global issues from healthcare
to civil rights. He explained how his
exile from ABC became the catalyst for
this transformation. Obviously, uh, my
exit from Grace was definitely a
catalyst for sure. Even in loss, you
gain. Even in loss, you win.
NBC highlighted this quote in its
campaigns, turning Washington’s personal
evolution into a brand statement. The
migration of talent also inspired other
networks to reconsider their strategies.
CBS and Fox observed the revolt closely,
wary that their own stars might follow
the same path if they felt constrained.
Streaming platforms, too, began
whispering offers to defectors. Though
NBC’s aggressive moves largely
monopolized the market, the revolt was
not just a reshuffleling of stars. It
was a restructuring of the entertainment
landscape. For ABC, the aftermath was
catastrophic. The network tried to pivot
toward new untested talent, hoping fresh
faces would rebuild its image. But
viewers were skeptical. Ratings slipped
further, advertisers grew restless, and
internal morale plummeted. The phrase
ABC can kiss our ass, once a private
toast among defectors, circulated widely
across social media, becoming a meme
that symbolized corporate downfall. NBC,
by contrast, enjoyed a renaissance. Its
slate of reclaimed stars brought not
only ratings but cultural relevance. By
platforming voices silenced elsewhere,
NBC cultivated an aura of defiance. For
the first time in decades, NBC was not
merely competing with ABC. It was
replacing it as the cultural heartbeat
of American television. The revolt had
concluded, but its lessons echoed
loudly. For performers, it proved that
exile from one network could become
empowerment at another. For audiences,
it demonstrated that loyalty to brands
could be shattered when stars themselves
declared betrayal. And for ABC, it
cemented a new legacy, not as the
network of opportunity, but as the
network that lost its empire to its own
neglect. The empire was now NBC’s.
Thanks for watching. If you had a good
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