Seth Meyers declared that he won’t be bowing to President Trump any time soon, even after the Trump administration successfully pressured ABC into pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air for making comments that Trump’s supporters found offensive.
“It is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend,“ Meyers said, ”In the same way that it’s a privilege and honor 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.”
“We’re gonna keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity,” Meyers added. “This is a big moment in our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression.”
He concluded, “There’s a reason free speech is in the very first amendment. It stands above all others.”
Meyers’ vow came a day after Nexstar, which runs ABC-affiliated TV stations across the country, announced that it would be refusing to air Jimmy Kimmel Live! due to the host’s “offensive and insensitive” comments about the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Nexstar’s announcement came shortly after the Trump-appointed FCC chairman Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC’s licensing if they didn’t punish Kimmel.
As journalists like CNN’s Jake Tapper have noted, Nexstar is currently trying to complete an over $6 billion merger that requires Carr’s approval to go through.
Kimmel, who offered condolences to Kirk’s family shortly after his death and who’s repeatedly condemned Kirk’s killing on his show, had reportedly planned to address the backlash to his comments in his canceled Wednesday show.
Earlier in his monologue Thursday, Meyers jokingly pretended to cave to the Trump administration’s crackdown on free speech.
“I just want to say before we get started here that I’ve always admired and respected Mr. Trump,“ Meyers quipped. ”I’ve always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer.“
Meyers joked further, “And if you’ve ever seen me say anything negative about him, that’s just AI.”
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