As the 2020 election draws closer, it was recently announced that the second presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has been canceled. The event was supposed to take place today, October 15th, but due to Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis and unwillingness to the debate virtually, it was canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates. However, things took an unexpected turn when Trump ended up scheduling a Town Hall on NBC at the same time as Biden’s Town Hall on ABC. Many people are outraged by this decision and, in fact, 100 big names in Hollywood have all signed a petition asking NBC to move the debate. You can read the letter below:
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“To Brian Roberts, Jeff Shell and Cesar Conde: We are a group of writers, actors, directors, and producers. Many of us have been lucky enough to work for NBCUniversal at some point in our careers. Some of us are currently employed at your studio. We have always thought of NBCUniversal as both a terrific creative home and a brand that stands for the best in entertainment and broadcast journalism.
This is why we have been devastated to learn that you have chosen to air President Trump’s town hall this Thursday night at 8 p.m., directly opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall. This is not a partisan issue. This is about the political health of our democracy.
President Trump refused to participate in the virtual debate scheduled for Thursday night by the Presidential Debate Commission. By agreeing to air his town hall as counterprogramming opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall on ABC, you are enabling the President’s bad behavior while undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a disservice to the American public. We believe this kind of indifference to the norms and rules of our democracy are what have brought our country to this perilous state.
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. We understand the necessities of business, especially in this difficult time. But we believe there are larger issues of civic responsibility at stake here.”
The letter is signed by many people, including Adam McKay, Adam Scott, Amy Schumer, Aubrey Plaza, Ava DuVernay, Ben Stiller, Billy Eichner, Billy Porter, Damon Lindelof, JJ Abrams, Jon Cryer, Jon Hamm, Josh Gad, Kumail Nanjiani, Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Patton Oswalt, Robert Kirkman, Ryan Murphy, Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogen, Sterling K. Brown, Alison Janney, Seth MacFarlane, Dan Levy, and Dule Hill. You can read the full list of names on The Hollywood Reporter‘s site here.
What are your thoughts on the open letter to NBC? Tell us in the comments!
