Hollywood Week: ABC/FCC Fight, Hayden Panettiere, Frank Beard, Bill Rasmussen
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Saturday, 22 August 2026 10:14
- Written by Janet Walker
In an ongoing battle with the Federal Communications Commission, ABC and parent company Disney have filed a federal lawsuit stating the FCC has violated First Amendment freedoms and accusing the commission of waging a "retaliatory" battle.
ABC/FCC Fight
The lawsuit, filed in Washington DC district court sets up the possibility of Disney/ABC arguing the case in front of the Supreme Court, and allowing the right-leaning court to decide on the constitutional value and merit of the FCC efforts to force the Burbank behemoth to bow.
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The feud between Disney and the FCC erupted after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who has remained a vocal opponent of the Trump Administration, made comments during his opening Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel monologue after the assassination of right-wing advocate Charlie Kirk, that were considered inflammatory.
Immediately Melania Trump demanded his resignation and persuaded her husband to address the issue. Soon, President Trump made similar statements. Local broadcast station, Sinclair and NexStar, both of whom own local ABC affiliate stations, and determine the programming on each station preempted Kimmel, in favor of programming more suitable to their constituents.
Kimmel was suspended for a week, and protests at Disney Burbank Studio and outside Kimmel's Hollywood theater demanded Kimmel be reinstated. His opening monologue addressed the issues and seemed genuine. However, the war between Trump and Kimmel continued to escalate.
Brendan Carr, the Trump appointed head of the three member commission, then moved into other areas of the ABC programming line-up to determine, what if any other laws the broadcasting titan were violating.
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"This battle is bigger than Kimmel. The FCC has investigated ABC and Disney, which is also a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, over its diversity practices and whether daytime talk show "The View" is mandated to follow the commission's equal-time rule for interviewing candidates of both parties in an election. In June, ABC launched an on-air campaign urging viewers to send comments to the FCC about this issue," The Washington Post reported.
When Disney urged members of its viewing audiences to send comments to the FCC, Carr escalated the battle again, and in this latest moves in now reviewing the broadcasting licenses owned by ABC/Disney in major cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, and including six other major cities.
The lawsuit is of course, bigger than the issues at hand, and the truth are the motivation behind the constant harassment ABC/Walt Disney has confronted by allowing programming that presents opinions contrary to the current administration.
The immense power of the media has been seen as a threat from as far as back as the reading of Orson Welles "The War of the World" over the broadcast radio waves in October 30, 1938, which resulted in a nationwide panic. Harnessing the power of media is a politicians dream, and facing the ire of the media is every politicians nightmare.
Currently, the government's attempt to restrict secondary or opposing opinions based on a political party's idea of what is best for the country should be considered state-sponsored media and have no place in this nation founded on principals that include freedom of speech.
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Hayden Panettiere Dies
Hayden Panettiere, a Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, People's Choice, and Grammy nominated actress, died this week of an apparent overdose. She was 36.
Panettiere, a child actress turned adult television and film star, was found in cardiac arrest, in a Greenville South Carolina apartment, unresponsive and in cardiac arrest, before paramedics arrived. After performing lifesaving measures, the actress was pronounced dead.
The coroner has yet to release a formal cause of death notification, although her family has been notified Panettiere's remains can be released. Further toxicology tests will be completed before the official cause of death will be released.
"As first reported by TMZ on Aug. 19, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is joining the multi-agency investigation into the circumstances of the "Heroes" star's Aug. 16 death inside a South Carolina apartment complex. ABC News also reported the development, citing "sources familiar with the matter,"' USA Today reported.
Panettiere, who began acting at 11 months starring in a television commercial, By age five, Panettiere had secured an impressive resume of roles, including 27 episodes on the daytime drama, "One Life To Live." Her breakout role, came opposite Denzel Washington in the 2000 film Remember the Titans, followed by the role of name for 45 episodes on the daytime drama, "The Guiding Light."
Panettiere was an in demand actress, starring in the NBC television show, "Heroes" playing a cheerleader gifted with supernatural powers, through the four season run, and played Juliette Barnes on the long running ABC drama, "Nashville," for which she received multiple Golden Globe nominations.
In her recent memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning, published in 2025, Panettiere describes her issues with anxiety, and after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014 with Ukraine boxer Wladimir Klitschko from 2009 to 2018, Panettiere describes severe postpartum depression and turning to drugs and excessive alcohol to self-soothe. In 2018, Klitschko requested full custody of their daughter; Panettiere granted the petition.
She also explained how she suffered from body dysmorphia, which is an unnatural belief about oneself, thinking as Panettiere said, she saw herself as one would see oneself in a fun house mirror, distorted. Needless to say, she had an unhealthy body image, and as she explained it stemmed from her success as a young teen star, unable to mature gracefully, in the glare of the media spotlight. She was forced to always be "on," and the press was always quick to splash the worst images, which can cause severe trauma.
Over the last three years, Panettiere suffered through the loss of her younger sibling, Jansen, who died, in 2023, from a previously undiagnosed enlarged heart.
Hayden Lesley Panettiere is survived by her daughter Kaya, and her parents.
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Frank Beard, ZZ Top Drummer, Dies
Frank Beard, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted drummer for the country/rock band ZZ Top, died this week at his home in Texas surrounded by family. He was 77.
Beard, the only member of the beard loving band without a beard, admitted to a life-long battle with drugs and alcohol, and explained in a documentary that he spent $72,000 nearly everything he made from his 1976 tour with ZZ Top on drugs and alcohol.
"Beard died while in hospice at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, surrounded by his family. One week ago, it was reported that Beard was not doing well, with ZZ Top, who were on their "The Big One Tour" at the time, canceling their concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 5. Beard left said tour in March to prioritize his health but returned to play a few shows prior to the Hollywood Bowl cancellation," Men'sJournal.com reported.
ZZ Top, with a distinctive sound, a mix of country ho-down, solid beats, and electric strings, exploded on the charts, with the 1979 hit single "Cheap Sunglasses." That album, Deguello went platinum. With name as the forerunner, and a sound that resonated with audiences, the next album, Eliminator, included the chart topping hits, "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs," and "Gimmie All Your Lovin," remained at the top 200 for 185 weeks.
The ZZ Top family understood Beard's lifelong struggles with drugs and alcohol, and when asked about replacing him, Billy Gibbons, one of the original ZZ Top guitarist, known for his 20 inch beard, explains, "there is only one guy." Dusty Hill the other original ZZ Top guitarist, who also grew a 20 inch beard, died in 2021.
His family has announced that no autopsy will be performed.
Beard was surrounded by friends and family when he passed.
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Bill Rasmussen
Bill Rasmussen, the co-founder of ESPN and the visionary behind the idea of the 24 hour-Sports channel died this week. He was 93.
"Bill was a remarkable man — a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. "Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn't for Bill's passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s — key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day," The Athletic reported.
Rasmussen's idea for a 24 hour sports channel became the only authority in sports, and the model behind many of the 24 hour news channels that sprang into life during the late 1970s. Like most early companies Rasmussen sought financing and received generous support from Getty Oil. Unfortunately, Rasmussen and the board of directors sold 85% of the company, which resulted in Rasmussen's ouster. Much like Steve Jobs who was fired from Apple, Rasmussen founds himself fired from the company he created.
He would be benched by ESPN for 19 years, and just before the fledging start-up would celebrate its 20th anniversary, George Bodenheimer invited Rasmussen back into the lineup where he was warmly received.
A veteran of the United States Air Force, Rasmussen was inducted into the Sports Broadcaster's Hall of Fame, in 2025.
He is survived by his sons Scott, Scott Rasmussen, Glenn Rasmussen, and his daughter Lynn Van Hollebeke and seven grandchildren and predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Lois Ann "Mickey" Rasmussen.
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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five award-winning screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," a non-fiction narrative, "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," and "Songs of Freedom: A Collection of Biblical Teachings," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Authors Guild, the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.