Molly Ringwald is ready to walk away from Hollywood. Or at least, she says she is. The “Breakfast Club” star told Parade magazine that she is prepared to leave the entertainment business for good if the FCC doesn’t back off Jimmy Kimmel. In her view, the pressure on the late-night host is nothing less than an attack on free speech.
“Simply put, this is censorship. We as professionals cannot accept this,” Ringwald told the magazine. She went even further. “I am prepared to step down and take a stand,” she said.
It’s a bold threat, and it would have been even bolder if it weren’t for one small detail. The interviewer gently pointed out that Ringwald’s most recent job was a commercial for the Campbell Soup company, back in 2018.
Her reply was quick. “That has nothing to do with it.” And honestly, she might be right. Nothing in this story seems to have anything to do with anything.
To be fair, Ringwald was once one of the biggest stars in America. In the 1980s, she was the face of a generation, starring in “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Pretty in Pink.” Teenagers wanted to dress like her. Studios wanted to cast her. She defined an era of film.
But that was a long time ago. In recent years, her work has been far quieter. A soup ad isn’t nothing, but it’s not exactly the kind of career that leaves Hollywood trembling at the thought of losing her.
“Threatening to quit a job you don’t currently have is a pretty safe threat,” said Alex Bruno, a talent agent in Los Angeles. “It’s like me saying I’ll stop playing for the Lakers.”
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t appear to be in any danger of going anywhere. He still has his show, his writers, and his nightly monologue. Whatever is happening between him and regulators, he hasn’t exactly gone silent.
Social media had plenty of fun with the story. Some users joked that the Campbell Soup company should issue its own statement of support. Others wondered whether her protest would involve canceling a soup subscription. A few loyal fans defended her, saying she has every right to speak up for a colleague.
There’s a broader pattern here, too. Every few months, a celebrity announces they’ll leave the country, quit their career, or boycott something in protest. Most of the time, nothing happens. The celebrity stays, the career continues, and the protest is forgotten by the following week.
Ringwald’s threat may follow the same script. Hollywood will keep making movies. Kimmel will keep making jokes. And the soup will keep being sold.
Still, Ringwald seemed sincere. She said she believes artists have to stand together when one of them is targeted. Whether stepping down from a career that’s already mostly in the rearview mirror will make much of a difference is another question entirely.
For now, Hollywood braces itself for life without its 2018 Campbell Soup spokesperson.