Late show hosts react to Jimmy Kimmel being pulled off air

Jimmy Kimmel was taken off air indefinitely on Wednesday, with ABC accused of bowing to pressure from the Trump administration. Now fellow late night hosts Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart have addressed the issue, offering Kimmel their support while condemning censorship.

While the news of Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s suspension was gleefully received by President Donald Trump and his followers, ABC's decision is being heavily criticised by others. A longtime Trump critic, Kimmel has been reportedly suspended for his comment about Republicans and right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk's killer. "The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said in a monologue on Monday.

As such, many have expressed concerns about the free speech implications of pulling Kimmel from broadcast.

Unsurprisingly, the remaining U.S. late show hosts left standing have a lot to stay on the matter.

Seth Meyers

Late Night host Seth Meyers opened his monologue on Thursday by jokingly attempting to backtrack on his own heavy criticism of Trump.

"I just want to say before we get started here that I've always admired and respected Mr. Trump," Meyers quipped to audience laughter. "I've always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer. And if you've ever seen me say anything negative about him, that's just AI." "Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he's doing the opposite."

Meyer subsequently played a montage of Trump declaring that he would "restore free speech" in the U.S., and claiming that he "stopped all government censorship." Of course, this was quickly followed by a second montage of newscasters announcing that Jimmy Kimmel Live! had been suspended after pressure from Brendan Carr, Trump's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair.

"Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he's doing the opposite," said Meyers. "And it has experts worried that we're rapidly devolving into oppressive autocracy in the style of Russia or Hungary much faster than anyone could have predicted…

"May I just say, it is a privilege and an honour to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend, in the same way that it's a privilege and honour to do this show every night," Meyers continued. "I wake up every day, I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech. And we're going to keep doing our show the way we've always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity… 

"This is a big moment in our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression. There's a reason free speech is in the very first Amendment. It stands above all others."

Jimmy Fallon

"Well guys, the big story is that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everyone thinking, 'WTF?' Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon said on Thursday.

Fallon took a slightly more lighthearted approach to the situation than Meyers, expressing support for his fellow late night Jimmy while also joking about how often they are mistaken for each other.

"This morning I woke up to 100 text messages from my dad saying, 'I'm sorry they cancelled your show,'" Fallon quipped. "But to be honest with you all, I don't know what's going on, and no one does. But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he's a decent, funny, and loving guy, and I hope he comes back."

Fallon then addressed concerns that Kimmel's untimely suspension would impact how he delivered the Tonight Show.

"A lot of people are worried that we won't keep saying what we want to say, or that we'll be censored," said Fallon. "But I'm going to cover the president's trip to the UK just like I normally would." "A lot of people are worried that we won't keep saying what we want to say, or that we'll be censored."

Fallon then proceeded to discuss Trump's time in the UK, with every statement that might have been critical of the president clearly dubbed over to be more complimentary.

"Well, guys, President Trump just wrapped up his three-day trip to the UK, and he 'looked incredibly handsome.' As always, his tie was 'exactly the right length.' And his face looked 'like a color that exists in nature,'" Fallon "said."

"Anyway, to sum it up, President Trump is making America great again by restoring our national reputation, reinvigorating our economy, and rebuilding our military. I hereby nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. And you can quote me on that! See? We can still say what we want."

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert knows better than others what Kimmel may be feeling, as CBS cancelled his own show in July. It has been widely speculated that this was an effort to appease Trump, as CBS' parent company Paramount needed his approval for an $8 billion merger with Skydance. Colbert has long been a vocal critic of Trump, calling Paramount's settlement with the president a "big fat bribe" and showing no signs of letting up all the way through until the Late Show's final episode next May.

As such, he dedicated the entirety of his 10-minute opening monologue to calling out ABC and the Trump administration over Kimmel's suspension.

"That is blatant censorship," said Colbert. "And it always starts small. You know, remember like in week one of his presidency, Gulf of America. "Call it Gulf of America." Sure, seems harmless. But with an autocrat, you cannot give an inch. And if ABC thinks that this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive. And clearly they've never read the children's book If You Give a Mouse a Kimmel." 

"And to Jimmy, just let me say, I stand with you and your staff 100 percent. And also, you couldn't let me enjoy this for like one week?" quipped Colbert, holding up the Emmy Award he won on Sunday. "If ABC thinks that this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive."

Colbert had a lot to say about Kimmel's suspension, including that comments from FCC chairman Carr that appeared to warn ABC to punish Kimmel or else put their broadcasting license in jeopardy, were "a serious threat to our freedoms." Colbert also examined exactly what Kimmel actually said that Carr labelled "the sickest conduct possible."

"Is that the clip? Really? 'Cause that's just Jimmy Kimmel," said Colbert. "I mean, given the FCC's response, I was expecting something more, you know, provocative. That's like hearing that Playboy has a racy new centerfold and finding out it's just Jimmy Kimmel."

The Late Show host subsequently pulled up some of Carr's old social media posts from 2020, in which he stated that political satire from late night comedians "helps hold those in power accountable," and that "shutting down this type of political speech — especially at the urging of those targeted or threatened by its message — would represent a serious threat to our freedoms and ability to hold those in power accountable"

"Oh man, do not tell Brendan Carr that Brendan Carr said that, or he's going to get Brendan Carr to cancel Brendan Carr," quipped Colbert.

Interestingly, Colbert noted that Nexstar Media Group, which owns several ABC-affiliated stations and stated that it would pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live! even prior to ABC's own announcement, has a major merger currently awaiting the Trump administration's approval. Colbert further pointed out that ABC's parent company Disney is also seeking approval for ESPN's proposed acquisition of NFL Network.

"A company apparently capitulating to the whims of the president in order to ensure their merger goes through. Has that ever happened before?" said Colbert. "Oh, I'm being told not to answer that question."

"No matter what they claim, this is not entirely about what Jimmy said on Monday, this was part of a plan," Colbert continued. "How do I know that? Two months ago, when the president was tastefully celebrating my cancellation, he posted, 'Jimmy Kimmel is next to go.' How would he have known? Either Jimmy getting thrown off the air was his plan all along, or he was the one who stole that almanac from Doc Brown's DeLorean."

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart didn't explicitly address Kimmel's suspension for the first 10 minutes of his Daily Show monologue. Even so, its impact was clear from the outset. Jokingly putting on a display of terrified reverence and obedience toward Trump, Stewart introduced a "hilarious, administration-compliant show," and pleaded with the audience to shut up whenever they booed the president. 

This tone continued throughout his monologue, as Stewart acted outraged toward a journalist in the UK who referenced Kimmel's situation when asking Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether free speech was more under attack in Britain or America.

"How dare you, sir?" said Stewart. "What outfit are you with, sir, The Antifa Herald Tribune?"

Stewart then addressed Trump's statements in the same press conference that Kimmel "was fired for lack of talent" and "they should fired him a long time ago."

"You may call it free speech in jolly old England," Stewart continued. "But in America, we have a little something called the First Amendment. And let me tell you how it works. There's something called a Talent-o-Meter. It's a completely scientific instrument that is kept on the president's desk. And it tells the president when a performer's TQ — Talent Quotient — measured mostly by niceness — to the president — goes below a certain level, at which point the FCC must be notified to threaten the acquisition prospects for billion-dollar mergers of network affiliates. These affiliates are then asked to give ultimatums to even larger mega corporation that controls the flow of state-approved content. Or the FCC can just choose to threaten those licenses directly. It's basic science! Read the Constitution!"

The Daily Show host then played a montage of conservatives justifying Kimmel's suspension, followed quickly by another montage of conservatives making claims such as that "global warming is a hoax," immigrants are "taking people's pets and eating them," and that the Jan. 6 insurrectionists were "sightseers."

"Even though two months ago, our president, because of his grand ability to see the future — it's a curse — somehow knew that Kimball would be [the next late night host to lose his show after Colbert], as he explicitly said [in a post on Truth Social], you can't just make things up on television," said Stewart. "People cannot just go on television and mislead viewers with made-up crap…

"But the point is, our great administration has laid out very clear rules on free speech," Stewart continued. "Now, some naysayers may argue that this administration's speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel of a ruse, a smokescreen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation, principle-less and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic governance. Some people would say that. Not me, though — I think it's great."