Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon weighed in on Kimmel’s suspension, making jokes about Trump while they were at it.
Four show hosts responded with satire and defiance after the suspension of one of their own, Jimmy Kimmel.
On Thursday night, it was the who’s who of late-night comedy: Stephen Colbert, whose own show was not renewed; NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, who have both received threats from President Donald Trump; and « The Daily Show’s » Jon Stewart, who has consistently defended his colleagues.
Kimmel’s « Jimmy Kimmel Live! » was suspended indefinitely by Disney on Wednesday under pressure from Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and a prominent company that owns ABC affiliate stations, Nexstar.
Nexstar and another ABC affiliate owner, Sinclair, pulled Kimmel’s show off the air « indefinitely. » Sinclair said the suspension would remain « until formal discussions are held with ABC about the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability. »
The suspension came after Kimmel made comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and mocked Trump’s response to the incident. Kimmel’s suspension and the political uproar that followed have raised questions over speech freedom and the First Amendment.
Sinclair also called for Kimmel to apologize to Kirk’s family.Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert, whose namesake late-night show is set to be pulled off the air in May, defended Kimmel during his opening monologue on Thursday night.
He started the show saying, « Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel », calling the suspension « blatant censorship.
