Posted 31 minutes agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret Down24 Wildly Controversial Late-Night Show Moments That Made Kimmel's Comments Look TameBefore you make fun of someone's haircut on TV, maybe check to make sure their hairdo isn't a result of stage 4 cancer.by Hannah MarderBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink The last few weeks have been a doozy in late-night television, with Jimmy Kimmel being taken off the air for comments he made about the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. This led to backlash from Kimmel's fellow late-night hosts and a larger discussion about censorship in media, especially after President Donald Trump called for the removal of late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. But Kimmel - who was reinstated last week - is not the first late-night host to generate controversy, or attention from the FCC. Here are 24 more times late-night hosts came under fire for remarks made on their shows. CBS / ABC / Via youtube.com 1. Another comedian who raised FCC concerns? Stephen Colbert, and for a far more risqué comment. In 2017, he said of Trump, "You talk like a sign language gorilla who got hit in the head," adding, "In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's cock holster." The FCC reviewed complaints from viewers, but considering the late-night airtime and the nature of the joke (which fell short of "obscene"), as well as the fact that the word "cock" was bleeped out, they "concluded that there was nothing actionable." Scott Kowalchyk / CBS via Getty Images Colbert did not *quite* apologize, saying, "While I would do it again, I would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be." He also cleared up his thoughts on the LGBTQ community after some felt the joke was anti-gay. "I just want to say for the record, life is short, and anyone who expresses their love for another person, in their own way, is to me, an American hero." 2. When former conservative lawmaker Michele Bachmann appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, her walk-on music raised eyebrows, as it contained a snippet of "Lyin' Ass Bitch." The band's drummer, Questlove, later apologized (well...kind of), saying, "The performance was a tongue-in-cheek and spur of the moment decision. The show was not aware of it and I feel bad if her feelings were hurt. That was not my intention." Fallon himself, along with NBC, also apologized. CNN / NBC / Via youtube.com Questlove was also asked to clear future songs with NBC. 3. But one of Jimmy Fallon's most controversial moments came when he had then-presidential candidate Donald Trump on the show. Fallon is arguably the least political and most softball of the late-night hosts, and his friendly rapport with Trump, despite his vile rhetoric, caused controversy with viewers...especially after Fallon ruffled Trump's hair. Fans felt this "normalized" Trump as if he were any other guest. CNN / NBC / Via youtube.com This was not actually Trump's first time on Fallon's show; he'd been on it no less than seven times due to his reality-show fame, and had also done a sketch with Fallon before he cinched the Republican nomination, but this was his first time as a serious candidate.
Fallon later expressed regret for having Trump on. "I'm sorry. I don't want to make anyone angry - I never do and I never will. It's all in the fun of the show. I made a mistake. I'm sorry if I made anyone mad. And, looking back, I would do it differently." 4. Trevor Noah similarly had Tomi Lahren on The Daily Show in a move that some similarly felt normalized her views and offered her a space to share them, even if it was through a debate. Considering Lahren has been a vocal critic of prominent Black figures from Obama to Beyoncé and of social movements like Black Lives Matter (she compared it to the KKK) and feminism, this felt like a betrayal to many viewers, especially considering some felt as if Lahren did not come across as terribly as they'd expected. Comedy Central / Via youtube.com However, others praised Noah's debate skills and the moment as a whole.
The controversy only got worse when pap shots surfaced that made the two appear as if they were at dinner together alone (Noah said they were with both of their producers, and that he went to dinner to thank Lahren for coming on the show). In response, Noah espoused the importance of "trying to talk to people who would never hear you in the first place." He continued, "It doesn't mean you have to agree, but at least you're in the world where you are hearing the opposing view." He also denied he was giving her exposure, saying she already had it. 5. Arsenio Hall came under fire for having controversial comedian Andrew Dice Clay on the show multiple times. Clay was best known for misogynistic, racist, and anti-gay humor, and he had already been banned from MTV for a disastrous VMA set when he appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1990. One member of Hall's band, keyboardist Starr Parodi, actually r