As ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! continues, Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts took to their own monologues to mock the Trump administration on Thursday evening.
The network pulled Kimmel off the air Wednesday over the comedian’s comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination during his 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 at the time.
While Kimmel has yet to comment on the issue, the suspension has set off a national debate over free speech and accusations that ABC and Disney, its parent company, have succumbed under pressure from the government.
Stephen Colbert slammed the network’s decision, calling Kimmel’s suspension “blatant censorship.” “It always starts small,” he said, referring to Trump’s orders to rename the Gulf of Mexico, to the “Gulf of America.” He added, “Sure, seems harmless, but with an autocrat, you cannot give an inch. And if ABC thinks 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.”
Colbert then referenced CBS’ abrupt decision earlier this summer to end his own show in 2026 and warned viewers: “This is not entirely about what Jimmy said on Monday. This was part of a plan. How do I know that? Two months ago, when the President was tastefully celebrating my cancellation, he posted ‘Jimmy Kimmel is next to go.’”
Elsewhere, Jon Stewart also took aim at the Trump administration and offered a glimpse of what an “administration-compliant show” may look like and mockingly played the role of a sycophant and terrified host. Stewart ended his monologue with a song dedicated to lauding the “dear leader” and was joined by the Daily Show‘s rotating hosts and correspondents, with comedian Ronny Chieng praising Trump’s “massive penis,” despite South Park‘s take on the matter.
Fallon briefly touched on Kimmel during The Tonight Show and said, “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.” After assuring viewers that his monologue would proceed “just like I normally would,” a voiceover dubbed in flattery for the president over Fallon’s commentary.
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Meanwhile, during Seth Meyers‘s “Closer Look” segment, he highlighted how “Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech,” but is “doing the opposite.” The host continued, “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.”
Meyers directly addressed Kimmel as well, and said it’s “a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend, 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, and we’re going to keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity.”
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