Some of the biggest names in Hollywood are protesting NBC’s Trump town hall

The list of big Hollywood names publicly objecting to a decision by NBC to run a Trump town hall at the exact time ABC runs a similar event featuring Vice President Joe Biden reads like a stroll along the Walk of Fame. Julianne Moore, Ava DuVernay, JJ Abrams, Ryan Murphy, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer and dozens more stars, showrunners, and creators have signed on to a protest letter calling out the network for what they see as a “disservice to the American public.”The outcry comes after the president’s refusal to engage in a virtual debate with his Democratic opponent, Biden. The original debate, scheduled for this evening, was intended to see the two candidates meet for a second time to discuss the issues relevant to this November’s election. However, after Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19, the debate format was modified as a precaution against the president infecting anyone present (including his opponent). Trump reacted to the new virtual format by refusing to participate.[video_embed id='2055746']RELATED: Can Trump outshine Biden in duelling town halls?[/video_embed]That’s when ABC invited Biden to hold a town hall style discussion on their network to replace the event. And while it seems fair that Trump, too, should get a similar opportunity to speak to voters, it’s NBC’s scheduling that has called their event into question. The two town halls will overlap each other in terms of timing, forcing viewers to decide whether they tune in to listen to Biden or to Trump. (NBC, of course, was home to Trump’s reality TV show, The Apprentice, a series that some pundits credit/blame for his election in the first place.)“This is about the political health of our democracy,” reads the letter, which was also signed by Ben Stiller, Aaron Sorkin, Billy Eichner, Mandy Moore, Aubrey Plaza, and Kumail Nanjiani. “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.”The letter (the full text and list of signatories is available here, via The Hollywood Reporter) goes on to state that those who signed it, “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.”Current and former NBC employees are also weighing in on the network’s decision. Katie Couric has this to say:

Having dueling town halls is bad for democracy-voters should be able to watch both and I don’t think many will. This will be good for Trump because people like to watch his unpredictability. This is a bad decision. #vote

— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) October 14, 2020

While Conan O’Brien weighed in with this zinger:

I can’t remember the last time I was this shocked by an NBC programming decision.

— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) October 15, 2020

The network claims that they have gone to great lengths and consulted multiple doctors to ensure the safety of the event and that Trump was “not shedding infectious virus” (shudder) but his health isn’t the main issue the letter’s signatories are objecting to — it is, rather, the health of American democracy.[video_embed id='2049925']BEFORE YOU GO: 'Horse girl' from Alberta can gallop and jump just like a horse[/video_embed]