US late-night comedians used their Thursday programmes to criticise government censorship following the suspension of their peer Jimmy Kimmel.
US network ABC on Wednesday pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from schedules after his comments about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The late-night comic made several remarks about the reaction to the assassination last week, including that “many in Maga land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk”.
The network pulled the show after several ABC-affiliated stations refused to air it, objecting to comments Kimmel made during his shows on Monday and Tuesday.
Stephen Colbert was direct in his criticism as he hosted Thursday’s episode of The Late Show, which was preceded by a social media post from the show’s official Instagram account which stated: “The Late Show stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his staff.”
“People across the country are shocked by this blatant assault on the freedom of speech,” said Colbert, whose own show is set to end next year.
Over the summer, CBS said the show was being cancelled because of financial reasons – a decision made just after Colbert criticised a settlement between Trump and CBS’s parent company over a 60 Minutes story.
Jon Stewart hosted a special edition of The Daily Show on Thursday, portraying what he described as a “patriotically obedient host” and satirically admonishing his studio audience for booing clips of US President Donald Trump.
He closed his opening monologue by stating: “Naysayers may argue that this administration’s speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy.
“A thin gruel of a ruse. A smokescreen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation, principle-less and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic governance.
“Some people would say that. Not me though, I think it’s great.”
Late Night with Seth Meyers followed a similar tact on NBC, with the host telling his audience: “The (Trump) administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech… completely unrelated, I just want to say before we get started here that I’ve always admired and respected Mr Trump.”
He continued: “I’ve always believed he was… a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer. And if you’ve ever seen me say anything negative about him, that’s just AI.”
Meanwhile, The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon said: “To be honest with you all, I don’t know what’s going on — no one does.
“But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he is a decent, funny and loving guy. And I hope he comes back.”
His monologue also took a comedic angle, with an announcer censoring several of the punchlines to his jokes about Mr Trump.
Former long-time late-night host David Letterman also called Kimmel’s suspension “ridiculous”.
Speaking during an appearance at The Atlantic Festival in New York on Thursday, the 78-year-old said: “I feel bad about this, because we all see where see this is going, correct?
“It’s managed media. It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous.”
Letterman also said people should not be fired just because they do not “suck up” to what he called “an authoritarian” president.
Trump earlier suggested some TV networks should “maybe” have their licences stripped as “they only give me bad publicity”.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to the US from a state visit to the UK, the president said: “I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily, all seven swing states (in last year’s election).
“They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”
In an address to the audience during his show, Kimmel said the “Maga gang are desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them”.
He also said “this is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone they call their friend” in response to a video of the US president saying he was doing “very good” after Mr Kirk’s death.
Many famous names, including Ben Stiller and Jamie Lee Curtis, have taken to social media to voice their concerns and speak of their support of everyone’s right to free speech after the suspension.
The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) released a statement saying: “The decision to suspend airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms.”
However, Kimmel’s comments drew the ire of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr, who told Fox News on Thursday the FCC was “going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest”.
He added: “If broadcasters don’t like that simple solution, they can turn their licence in to the FCC.”
Mr Kirk, who was a prominent political commentator in the US and ally of the president, was shot dead at a Utah Valley University event last week.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged on Tuesday and could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Mr Kirk.
