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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Tom Murray

Jon Stewart hijacks Jimmy Kimmel monologue to deliver gag about Trump’s late-night crackdown

Jimmy Kimmel was joined by one of his late-night colleagues during the live taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday.

The Daily Show host Jon Stewart arrived on stage during the host’s monologue dressed as a GrubHub delivery driver, handing a pizza to Kimmel’s sidekick, Guillermo.

Stewart joked that he’d had to take on some “side hustles” since “the job security’s not really there right now” for late-night talk show hosts.

Kimmel’s recent suspension over comments he made on his talk show about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk caused an outcry about free speech.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump publicly celebrated Kimmel’s suspension and the impending cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show by CBS.

Upon Kimmel’s return to the airwaves last week, Trump threatened to “test ABC out on this.” “He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution,” claimed Trump on social media.

ABC has not publicly responded to Trump’s post, which lacked any clear legal basis.

Stewart’s visit to Kimmel’s show Thursday concluded with Kimmel urging him to step off the stage so he could finish his monologue.

Stewart joked in response: “Oh I’m sorry, Mr. Free Speech! I forgot free speech, it’s only for Mr. Free Speech, I’m sorry!”

Before leaving to join the audience, Stewart hugged Kimmel and told him, “I love you.”

Kimmel returned to ABC on September 23 after a six-day suspension (Disney)

Meanwhile, Kimmel and Colbert joined forces earlier this week to roast Trump during a rare, late-night show crossover event.

“I am so honored to be here with my fellow no-talent, late-night loser,” Kimmel joked.

Yesterday, Stewart offered a self-deprecating take on why he appears to have mostly avoided Trump’s ire.

“It’s a function of relevance. I don’t think we are on the radar,” the host said on his own The Weekly Show podcast.

“I’ve had my experiences. I take great pride in the fact that Donald Trump, at 2:30 AM, just tweeted, I think in all caps: ‘Jon Stewart is a p****.’ This is obviously before he was the commander-in-chief of the United States,” Stewart said.

Stewart also said he hoped his network, Comedy Central, would stand behind him if Trump ever did come after The Daily Show.

“We continue to do what we do and the hope is that the company that we work for continues to appreciate what it is that we do,” he said.

After Kimmel’s suspension, over 400 Hollywood and Broadway stars, including Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, signed an open letter organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The letter condemned the suspension as an unconstitutional assault on free speech and urged Americans to defend their constitutionally protected rights.

After six days, ABC reinstated Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with Kimmel returning to the network on September 23. He defended free speech in his return monologue, stating: “Our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television.”

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