Election watchdogs urge Jimmy Kimmel to scrap plans to host MyPillow CEO

Election integrity advocates are urging Jimmy Kimmel and ABC to cancel a scheduled appearance by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” late Wednesday.

In a letter sent to Kimmel and several top executives at ABC, the groups, including Common Cause, the Democracy Initiative and the League of Women Voters of the United States, say Lindell should not be given a platform to spread misinformation about the 2020 presidential election. 

“Lindell’s work in pushing election disinformation has already had significant consequences for our nation, including the violent insurrection on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol that led to at least five people losing their lives,” their letter reads.

Lindell’s unproven conspiracy theories about electoral fraud are “also rooted in racism and white supremacy,” the groups wrote. 

“The disinformation he is trying to sell is part of a larger narrative that essentially wants to throw out millions of votes from cities where people of color make up a majority or significant portion of the voting population, including Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Las Vegas,” they said. 

Lindell has been a vocal supporter of former President Trump and has continued to push claims of voter fraud leading to an election result Trump has said was “rigged” against him. 

In February, it was announced Lindell had produced a three-hour documentary about his claims of election fraud, which would air on One America News Network. 

Lindell has been kicked off Twitter for publishing false information regarding the election on the platform.

“We believe that having Mr. Lindell on your show will give him a bigger platform to spread his lies and disinformation, and knowingly mislead the public about the integrity of our election systems. To be clear, even joking about his conspiracy theories can lead to the spread of disinformation,” the watchdogs wrote to ABC.

“In fact, disinformation actors such as Lindell often seek to get their lies and conspiracy theories debunked in national media in order to give their disinformation broader reach.” they added. “Given the state of our nation and nature of Lindell’s lies, we are asking that you immediately cancel his scheduled appearance.”