Jimmy Kimmel’s colleagues on the late-night circuit banded together to defend the comedian this week, who sparked a firestorm with comments about the assassination of conservative Charlie Kirk that earned him a rebuke from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and eventually a suspension by ABC.
“We have another fun, hilarious administration-compliant show,” comedian Jon Stewart joked as he hosted a special edition of “The Daily Show” on Thursday, before sarcastically praising President Trump during his opening monologue.
Other hosts were more direct, with CBS’s Stephen Colbert opening his show saying, “Tonight we are all Jimmy Kimmel” and calling his suspension “censorship.” His comment comes just months after CBS announced that Colbert’s “The Late Show” would end next May, which also sounded alarms.
Kimmel was suspended Wednesday over comments suggesting conservatives were trying to score political points over Kirk’s death and making fun of Trump for mourning his death “like a four-year-old mourns a dead goldfish.”
The remarks were met with instant backlash, including from Trump’s FCC chair Brendan Carr on Wednesday who called them “some of the sickest conduct possible.”
Hours later, Nexstar Media Group, which owns The Hill and a number of other media properties, said its affiliate stations would drop Kimmel’s show “indefinitely” over the remark, with a top executive at the company calling his comments “offensive” and “insensitive.” Carr and Trump also praised ABC’s decision.
Earlier on Thursday, speaking at The Atlantic festival, former late night star David Letterman said of Kimmel: “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 criminal administration in the Oval Office.”
NBC’s Jimmy Fallon acknowledged Kimmel’s suspension by calling him a “decent, funny and loving guy,” and said he hopes he returns to the air.
ABC has given no indication if or when it intends to reinstate Kimmel, leading to speculation he could be taken off the air permanently.
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