Calls for #NBCBlackout Surface From 'Seinfeld' Cast, Other NBC Shows Ahead of Trump Town Hall
Notable NBC stars and alumni are not happy about the TV network holding President Donald Trump's hour-long town hall Thursday night at 8 p.m., the same time slot as former Vice President Joe Biden's 90-minute-long town hall on ABC.
Seinfeld alumna Julia Louis-Dreyfus simply tweeted the hashtag #NBCBlackout.
— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) October 15, 2020
One user joked that you NBC is "disgraceful" since the cast of Seinfeld is calling for the boycott.
When the cast of Seinfeld calls for #NBCBlackout you know NBC is disgraceful.
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) October 15, 2020
Parks and Recreation alum Billy Eichner also blasted NBC for holding the Trump Town Hall. "The timing of the Trump town hall by @NBCNews is just so desperate and disgraceful. Don't you have ANY integrity at all? Have you learned nothing? It's pathetic. He's a white supremacist who's helped murder 220,000 Americans. What's next? Hitler on America's Got Talent?," he tweeted.
"Btw I'm seeing a lot of Hollywood friends on here who jump to comment on everything else who are silent on this. Speak up! This is EXACTLY what got us into this nightmare and why so many people are DEAD. Don't worry, they'll still hear ur f***ing Peacock pitch."
Btw I’m seeing a lot of Hollywood friends on here who jump to comment on everything else who are silent on this. Speak up! This is EXACTLY what got us into this nightmare and why so many people are DEAD. Don’t worry, they’ll still hear ur fucking Peacock pitch.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 14, 2020
Former NBC anchor Katie Couric called the fact that NBC and ABC were going to host town halls at the same time a "bad decision."
"Having dueling town halls is bad for democracy-voters should be able to watch both and I don't think many will," she said. "This will be good for Trump because people like to watch his unpredictability. This is a bad decision."
Having dueling town halls is bad for democracy-voters should be able to watch both and I don’t think many will. This will be good for Trump because people like to watch his unpredictability. This is a bad decision. #vote
— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) October 14, 2020
Additionally, over 100 top Hollywood figures signed a letter published in The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday addressed to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, NBCUniversal Chairman Jeff Shell and NBCU New Group chair Cesar Conde. "You are enabling the president's bad behavior while undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a disservice to the American public," the memo stated. "This is not a partisan issue. This is about the political health of our democracy."
The letter concluded with the signers asking "that NBC air the President's town hall either before or after Vice President Biden's so that American voters can have the opportunity to watch both."
Among those who have signed are: Parks & Recreation alum Adam Scott, Billy Eichner and Aubrey Plaza; This Is Us stars Chrissy Metz, Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Brown, along with creator Dan Fogelman; The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin; Law & Order stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni; and Will & Grace alum Debra Messing.
Despite all of the pushback, the National Broadcasting Company refuses to move Trump's town hall.
"We share in the frustration that our event will initially air alongside the first half of ABC's broadcast with Vice President Biden," Conde said. He added that their decision was based in fairness.
"If we were to move our town hall with President Trump to a later time slot we would be violating our commitment to offer both campaigns access to the same audience and the same forum," he added.
