NBC’s
Biggest Stars Sign Open Letter Demanding Network Move Trump Town Hall
More
than 100 Hollywood writers and stars—including cast members from NBC hits
like Law & Order: SVU and This Is Us—have
urged the network to change its mind about hosting a town hall-style debate
with the president that will air in direct opposition to a similar event on ABC
with Joe Biden.
OCTOBER 15, 2020
Law & Order franchise
stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, This
Is Us actors Sterling K. Brown, Mandy Moore,
and Milo Ventimiglia, and former prominent NBC performers
like Debra Messing, Allison Janney, and Aubrey
Plaza are among the more than 100 celebrities who have signed a letter
to NBCUniversal brass urging the company to change its broadcast plans for a
town hall-style debate with President Donald Trump.
In a letter addressed to Comcast CEO Brian
Roberts, NBCUniversal chairman Jeff Shell, and NBCUniversal
News Group chairman Cesar Conde, the roster of Hollywood
luminaries—many of whom either worked for NBCUniversal at some point or
currently do so—said they were “devastated” to learn of NBC’s decision to
broadcast the Trump event at 8 p.m. ET, the exact same time ABC will host its
own town hall with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“This is not a partisan issue. This is about
the political health of our democracy,” read the letter, which was released to
the Hollywood trades as part of a
coordinated break.
As noted in the letter, the second
presidential debate was originally scheduled for Thursday. But after Trump
tested positive for coronavirus, the Commission on Presidential Debates shifted
the format from an in-person affair to a virtual one. At that point, Trump
balked and withdrew entirely.
After Trump refused to participate, the Biden
campaign scheduled a town hall with ABC to replace the debate. Trump’s campaign
staff, meanwhile, sought to bully the
Commission on Presidential Debates into shifting the second debate to October
22 and the third debate to October 29—to no avail. While Trump had floated the
idea of doing a rally on Thursday night instead of any planned debate, NBC on
Thursday confirmed it would air its own town hall with the president during the
same time slot.
The decision was widely condemned, with
everyone from former NBC staffers to broadcast
journalists inside the network
to even ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel expressing
discomfort about the choice. The letter released Thursday, however, included
some of the biggest names yet to express outrage. In addition to the
aforementioned NBC stars and alum, other prominent figures signing the plea
include Ava DuVernay, J.J. Abrams, Ryan Murphy, Kenya
Barris, Greg Berlanti, Damon Lindelof, and Adam
McKay.
“We believe this kind of indifference to the
norms and rules of our democracy are what have brought our country to this
perilous state,” the letter read. Rather than push to completely cancel the
Trump town hall, the signees requested it shift time slots. “We are simply
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,” read the note. “We understand the necessities of business, especially in
this difficult time. But we believe there are larger issues of civic
responsibility at stake here.”
