Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images, Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images, Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)Jimmy Kimmel's fellow late-night hosts on Thursday night addressed ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! over on-air comments he made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's killing."Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel," Stephen Colbert said at the beginning of his Late Show monologue on CBS.
During his own monologue on Monday, Kimmel suggested that President Trump's supporters were trying to "score political points" by portraying Kirk's accused killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, as a left-wing radical.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementABC's decision came after Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chair, threatened to punish the network if it did not take action. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said on a right-wing podcast on Wednesday afternoon."Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everyone thinking WTF," Jimmy Fallon said Thursday during his Tonight Show monologue on NBC. "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 is a decent, funny and loving guy. And I hope he comes back."On NBC's Late Night, host Seth Meyers joked that anything negative he's said about Trump is an AI-generated deepfake."I've always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president and even better golfer," Meyers joked, before turning serious.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend," he said. "In the same way that it's a privilege and honor to do this show every night."I wake up every day, I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech," Meyers said. "We're gonna keep doing our show the way we've always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity."He added: "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."Colbert called Kimmel's suspension "blatant censorship" and described the president as "an autocrat."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch, and if ABC thinks this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive," Colbert said.
In July, CBS, which is owned by Paramount, announced that it would be ending its long-running late-night program next year. At the time, CBS said it was purely a "financial" decision and "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount." But critics accused the network of canceling the show to appease the Trump administration ahead of Paramount's pending megamerger with Skydance.
Colbert linked Kimmel's suspension to his own cancellation."This was part of a plan," Colbert said. "How do I know that? Two months ago, when the president was tastefully celebrating my cancellation, he posted 'Jimmy Kimmel is next to go.'"President Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One on Thursday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)Trump suggested on Thursday that Kimmel's show was suspended for "bad ratings" and his "lack of talent" in addition to the remarks he made during Monday's show.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk," Trump said during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in England."Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person," the president continued. "He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago. So you know, you can call that free speech or not, he was fired for lack of talent."ABC did not say that Kimmel has been fired, nor has it given a reason for taking the show off the air. "Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be pre-empted indefinitely," an ABC spokesperson said in a brief statement to media outlets on Wednesday night.
Speaking later to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump suggested that the FCC should look into the licenses of networks and evening shows that criticize him.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"When you have a network and you have evening shows, and all they do is hit Trump. That's all they do," Trump said. "When you go back, take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They're licensed. They're not allowed to do that."Barack ObamaPhoto illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Melina Mara - Pool/Getty Images, Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty ImagesFormer President Barack Obama also addressed the Kimmel news on Thursday."After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by rout