Sept 19 (Reuters) - Film and TV writers held a

free-speech demonstration in New York on Friday to protest

Disney's ( DIS ) suspension of talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel and President

Donald Trump's efforts to punish broadcasters who speak ill of

him or his murdered ally, the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

ABC, the television network owned by the Walt Disney Co ( DIS )

, indefinitely suspended "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" this week

after Kimmel discussed Kirk and mocked the president during his

opening monologue on Monday's show.

Some conservatives were outraged by the monologue. The

Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission

threatened regulatory action, alarming Democrats and civil

rights groups who accused the Trump administration of

unconstitutional efforts to censor critical media. The owners of

many ABC-affiliated local TV networks said they would not carry

the show until Kimmel apologized to Kirk's family.

Disney ( DIS ) has been targeted by conservatives before,

particularly in a bruising political battle in 2022 over a

Florida law that limited classroom discussion of sexual

orientation or gender identity. The entertainment giant's

initial response angered many of its employees, which pushed

then-CEO Bob Chapek to take a more critical stance that collided

with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican.

On Friday in Manhattan, dozens of film and TV writers,

including some employed by ABC, marched on the sidewalk outside

the downtown skyscraper where Disney ( DIS ) has its offices to "protect

free speech" in a rally organized by their labor union, the

Writers Guild of America.

In a rally organized by WGA in Los Angeles on Thursday,

about 150 demonstrators protested outside the Hollywood studio

where "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is recorded, waving signs saying:

"Don't Bend a Knee to Trump"; "Resist fascism" and "Douse the

mouse."

Trump, a former successful TV host himself, spoke several

times during a state visit to Britain this week to commend

Kimmel's suspension, calling the Los Angeles comedian untalented

and denouncing him for saying "a horrible thing about a great

gentleman known as Charlie Kirk."

Kimmel, who frequently lampoons Trump, said in his monologue

that Kirk's allies were using the onstage murder of the

31-year-old activist last week to "score political points."

Kimmel also mocked Trump for turning a question about his grief

for Kirk into a cheerful promotion for his planned White House

ballroom.

"This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he

called a friend," Kimmel said. "This is how a four-year-old

mourns a goldfish."

Kimmel has not publicly commented since his suspension, and

the future of his show remains unclear.

Trump also complained to reporters as he flew back to the

U.S. that television networks "were 97% against me" and only

gave him bad publicity.

"I would think maybe their license should be taken away,"

Trump said. Federal law prohibits the FCC from revoking a

broadcaster's license for negative coverage or other speech

disliked by the government.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said Trump

should fire FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, calling him "one of the

single greatest threats to free speech America has ever known."

"We will not stand by and watch Trump engage in this

targeting and retaliation of any kind of free speech he doesn't

like to hear," Schumer told reporters on Friday.

Carr said on Thursday that he is "not going anywhere" and

vowed to continue his work taking on media firms and defending

the "public interest."