How Stephen Colbert and Other Late-Night Hosts Responded to Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension

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ABC temporarily took Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show off the air on Wednesday, possibly due to pressure from the Trump Administration. However, other late-night hosts spoke out about the situation on their own programs.

Fellow comedians like Stephen Colbert – whose own show on CBS recently ended under similar circumstances – reacted to the news with both sharp wit and strong support.

Colbert: ‘We are all Jimmy Kimmel’

Stephen Colbert started his show on Thursday saying, “Welcome to *The Late Show*. I’m your host, Stephen Colbert,” but then added, “Tonight, though, we’re all Jimmy Kimmel.”

“I still have a show though, right?” he quipped toward the side of his set. “OK, good.”

Following the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, which Colbert described as clear censorship, he cautioned that you can’t concede anything to authoritarian figures. He warned that if ABC believes this will appease those in power, they are seriously mistaken.

As a huge fan of late-night comedy, it really warmed my heart to see Stephen Colbert publicly support Jimmy Kimmel and his team. He even brought out his Emmy from the night before – can you believe it? – and playfully complained, ‘Seriously, could I not have enjoyed this for even a week?’ It just showed such solidarity and a great sense of humor, even during a tough moment.

Colbert continued to discuss the situation with Kimmel, taking aim at FCC chair Brendan Carr. He jokingly compared Carr to a hard-boiled egg sold at airports, and criticized him for pressuring ABC and its stations to take action against Kimmel.

Stephen Colbert pointed out the irony of Carr’s recent actions by sharing his old tweets. In those tweets, Carr had stated that political satire “helps hold those in power accountable” and that suppressing political speech – particularly when requested by those it criticizes – would be a “serious threat to our freedoms.”

Please don’t tell Brendan Carr what he publicly stated, or he’ll likely try to retract his own statement.

Stephen Colbert noted the striking coincidence that Nexstar, an ABC affiliate pushing for Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, needs FCC approval for a merger – a situation similar to when CBS announced the end of Colbert’s *Late Show* while its parent company, Paramount, had a deal pending with the FCC. He sarcastically wondered if a company ever caved to presidential pressure to get a merger approved.

He paused, saying he’d been told not to answer the question, as if someone was cueing him from the wings.

Watch Colbert’s full monologue here:

During his monologue, Colbert addressed the recent controversy involving Jimmy Kimmel. He went further by showing a humorous animated short called “Disney’s Message to Employees: Shut Your Trap.” He also revived his character from his old show, *The Colbert Report*, playing him as *The Late Show’s* internal investigator and performing a segment called “The Word” – a popular bit from *The Colbert Report*.

Speaking as a satire of right-wing commentators, the speaker announced, “My fellow citizens, I’m here to save you from this supposed free speech problem!” Then, with dramatic flair, they shouted their solution: “Shhhhhh!”

During the segment, jokes flashed on the screen while Stephen Colbert, playing his on-air character, jokingly told viewers to avoid saying anything that could bother the President.

Stewart leads an ‘Administration-compliant’ Daily Show

Jon Stewart, a regular Monday night host on Comedy Central’s *The Daily Show*, surprised viewers with an appearance on Thursday. It was unusual because he typically only hosts episodes at the beginning of the week as part of a rotating group of hosts.

The show began with a fresh opening sequence. A voice announced, “From Comedy Central, it’s the all-new Daily Show, with your host, Jon Stewart,” adding a playful jab about government approval and patriotic obedience.

Standing on a lavishly decorated set, a nervous Stewart greeted the audience, cheerfully announcing, “Tonight, we’ve got another fun and hilarious show that follows all the rules!”

Throughout the segment, Stewart used satire, ironically praising Trump as a powerful and charismatic leader – a sort of “great father” figure – and highlighting his supposed intelligence and speaking ability. He even silenced the audience when they reacted negatively to clips of Trump.

After Trump claimed Jimmy Kimmel was canceled due to a lack of talent, Jon Stewart sarcastically explained how things *really* work. He described a fictional “talent-ometer” supposedly kept in the White House that measures a performer’s “Talent Quotient” – mostly based on how nice they are to the President. According to Stewart, if a performer’s TQ falls too low, the President directs the FCC to threaten the potential mergers of network affiliates, or directly threaten their licenses. He ended by urging everyone to read the First Amendment of the Constitution, framing it as a matter of basic, established fact.

The segment concluded with a satirical song praising Donald Trump. The hosts jokingly pledged their loyalty, exaggerating his accomplishments and dismissing any flaws, even going to absurd lengths to compliment him. They claimed he ended numerous wars (even those in nonexistent countries), deserved Nobel Prizes, and possessed exceptional physical attributes. They acknowledged his Operation Warp Speed initiative led to the COVID-19 vaccine, despite their personal reservations, and ultimately portrayed him as a superhero who remains unconvicted of any wrongdoing.

Watch the full segment here:

Stewart interviewed Maria Ressa, a Filipino journalist and advocate for press freedom who was named TIME Person of the Year in 2018 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, to discuss how the U.S. changed during the Trump presidency.

Maria Ressa compared Americans to deer caught in headlights, suggesting a sense of paralysis. She warned that failing to actively defend your rights leads to their loss, and regaining them later is a much greater challenge.

Watch Stewart’s conversation with Ressa here:

Meyers: ‘We’re rapidly devolving into oppressive autocracy’ 

So, Seth Meyers opened his ‘A Closer Look’ segment last night by doing what he does best: a bit of sharp irony. He started by claiming he’s always been a huge admirer of Donald Trump – calling him a visionary, innovator, and even a fantastic golfer – *before* immediately pivoting to the fact that Trump just returned from a trip to the UK marked by protests, and that his administration is actively trying to limit free speech here at home. It was a classic Seth Meyers setup, and he hilariously capped it off by blaming any past criticism of Trump on… artificial intelligence. It was a brilliantly sarcastic way to highlight the contrast between Trump’s public image and his policies.

Meyers then showed a series of clips of Trump claiming he fought against censorship and restored free speech in the US. This was followed by news footage about Kimmel’s suspension.

I have to say, watching things unfold, it’s really concerning. Trump campaigned on being a champion of free speech and ending government overreach, but what we’re seeing now feels like the complete opposite. Experts are genuinely worried, and frankly, so am I, that we’re sliding towards a really dangerous level of authoritarianism – the kind you see in places like Russia or Hungary – and happening at an alarming speed. It’s a lot faster than anyone anticipated, and it’s a scary trend.

He concluded the segment with a touching statement, saying it was both a privilege and an honor to be friends with Jimmy Kimmel, just as it was to host the show each night.

After learning about Kimmel’s suspension on Wednesday, Trump took to his Truth Social account to criticize Jimmy Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, calling them both “total losers” and urging NBC to take action against them.

I’m grateful to live in a country that claims to support free speech,” Meyers said. “We’ll continue making our show with the same energy and honesty we always have.

Watch Meyers’ full segment here:

Fallon: ‘I don’t know what’s going on, and no one does’

Jimmy Fallon immediately addressed the news about Jimmy Kimmel’s show being canceled when he began The Tonight Show. He playfully said, “I woke up to a hundred texts from my dad apologizing that my show had been canceled.”

Fallon’s tone shifted, becoming more sincere. He admitted he didn’t know the details of what was happening, but shared his concern for Jimmy Kimmel, describing him as a good, funny, and caring person and expressing hope for his return.

Look, a lot of us in the late-night world have been wondering how much freedom we’ll have to really *say* what we think these days. Jimmy Fallon addressed that head-on, promising he’d cover President Trump’s recent trip to the UK as usual. Then, he did something really clever – he *started* talking about the protests and the whole Jeffrey Epstein connection surrounding the trip, but then a voiceover came in and completely spun his commentary into uncritical praise. It was a pretty pointed way of showing how easily things can be manipulated, and a clear signal that he’s aware of the pressures being put on comedians right now.

Fallon began to summarize President Trump’s accomplishments, saying, “Anyway, President Trump is-” but a voiceover finished the thought: “-making America great again by improving our country’s image, boosting the economy, and strengthening the military. I nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Watch Fallon’s full monologue here:

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2025-09-19 13:07