While Thursday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was preempted by a rerun of “Celebrity Family Feud,” continuing ABC’s indefinite suspension of the talk show, some of Kimmel’s late-night colleagues used their platform to sound off.
On “The Daily Show,” which airs on Paramount-owned Comedy Central and has rotating hosts, Jon Stewart suited up for emceeing duties outside his usual Monday slot. Desi Lydic had been hosting this week, but the comedian had something to say about the issues surrounding his friend Kimmel.
Stewart leaned heavy into irony from the start of the show, saying it is now the “all new, government-approved” version, and was introduced as the evening’s “patriotically obedient host.” Stewart frequently scolded the audience for laughing at his sarcastic pandering to the Trump administration. He said the show was being taped in the “crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City” and notes that “someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?”
“I don’t know who this ‘Johnny Drimmel Live’ ABC character is, but the point is, our great administration has laid out very clear rules on free speech,” Stewart said. “Some naysayers may argue that this administration’s speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel of a ruse, a smoke screen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation, principleless and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic governance. Some people would say that. Not me, though, I think it’s great.”
Stewart and the correspondents then serenaded the president with an off-key tune filled with compliments and praises.
Seth Meyers, host of NBC’s “Late Night,” also didn’t avoid the topic. He opened his segment “A Closer Look” on Thursday by cracking jokes about how anything negative he’s said about the president is an AI-generated deepfake. “I’ve always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president and even better golfer,” he joked.
He proceeded to show clips from Trump’s recent trip to the U.K., poking fun at the president’s comments and protesters who rallied against his visit. But later in the segment, Meyers’ began to show clips of Trump touting his efforts to “stop all government censorship” and bring back free speech, before cutting to news clips about Kimmel’s suspension.
“Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he’s doing the opposite, and it has experts worried that we’re rapidly devolving into an oppressive autocracy in the style of Russia or Hungary, much faster than anyone could have predicted,” Meyers continued.
The host also commented on his personal relationship with Kimmel, saying it’s a “privilege and an honor” to be his friend, in the same way he feels privileged to host his own show. “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,” he said.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” added David Remnick, the editor in chief of the New Yorker, to its lineup Thursday, which already included CNN journalist Jake Tapper. Colbert’s show generated its own headlines this summer when CBS announced the late-night talk show would be canceled after the season wraps in May 2026 — effectively ending the franchise after 33 years on the air. The decision, the company said, was due to financial reasons rather than a response to Colbert’s criticism of a deal between the Trump administration and Paramount, the parent company of CBS, the network that airs “The Late Show,” as many have speculated.
Colbert used his vocal talents Thursday to sing a tune about the situation, presenting a short song as a message from ABC and its parent company, Walt Disney. The song was to the tune of “Be Our Guest,” the “Beauty and The Beast” classic — except the repeating refrain is “shut your trap.”
Colbert sings as an animated clip of the candlestick character Lumière from the movie plays, but he’s donning a red MAGA hat here. “Shut your trap, we’re warning you to cut the crap. Our dear leader’s skin is thinner than a sheet of plastic wrap,” he sings.”Mum’s the word, have you heard, kissing ass is what’s preferred. Don’t insult our great dictator or he’ll hit you with this turd,” the song continues as a photo of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appears on screen.
“The new rule at ABC: Don’t make fun of Donny T,” he sings. “So don’t you make a scene or mention Jeff Epstein, or your show will be scrapped — shut your trap.”
Colbert also spoke about the suspension in a monologue, reading a social media post from Carr that said “While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.”
“You know what my community values are, buster?” Colbert asked. “Freedom of speech.”
Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is also scheduled to appear in an episode of “The Late Show” airing Monday; Kelly last appeared on the show last year ahead of the November 2024 presidential election, discussing border security and gun reform.
Earlier on Thursday, while taking part in a panel conversation moderated by the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, late-night veteran David Letterman, who once helmed “The Late Show” on CBS, described this week’s turn of events as “misery.”
“In the world of somebody who’s an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship, sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched,” Letterman said. He first addressed what transpired with Colbert and the cancellation of “The Late Show,” alluding to political pressure as the real culprit, before addressing the decision to yank Kimmel’s show.
“I just feel bad about this because we all see where this is going, correct?” he said. “It’s managed media. And it’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous. And you can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian — a criminal — administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.”
With three decades in the late-night circuit, Letterman never shied from mocking presidents: “Beating up on these people,” he said, “rightly or wrongly, accurately or perhaps inaccurately, in the name of comedy — not once were we squeezed by anyone from any government agency, let alone the dreaded FCC.”
ABC carried out the decision to take Kimmel off the air Wednesday after the comedian and host made comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death during his opening monologue on Monday night.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize 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.
Kimmel has not yet commented publicly on the matter. But his show’s suspension quickly ignited fierce debate, with critics accusing ABC and its parent company, Disney, of capitulating to political pressure. Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said Wednesday that his agency might take action against ABC because of Kimmel’s comments.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said on the Benny Johnson podcast. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
President Trump lauded Kimmel’s suspension in a post he wrote on his Truth Social media site: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.” (The show has not been canceled, but remains on hold.)
It’s also worth noting Kimmel’s outspoken daytime counterparts were mum on the issue. “The View’s” panelists did not address the Kimmel situation during Thursday’s episode. (“Good Morning America,” which is produced by ABC News, did mention the news of the Kimmel hiatus without additional commentary.)
Meanwhile, Kimmel’s fictional late-night competitor, Deborah Vance, has an opinion on the ordeal — or rather, actor Jean Smart does. She may only play a late-night television host on TV, but the “Hacks” actress was quick to share her thoughts on the decision to pull Kimmel from the air: “What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech,” Smart shared in an Instagram post. “People seem to only want to protect free speech when its suits THEIR agenda.” (Kimmel made a cameo in the recent season of “Hacks.”)
She went on to write: “Thought I didn’t agree at ALL with Charlie Kirk; his shooting death sickened me; and should have sickened any decent human being. What is happening to our country?”
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