Stephen Colbert has branded President Donald Trump an “autocrat” as he criticized ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show.
Colbert called ABC’s move “blatant censorship” and said he stands with Kimmel “100 percent” at the taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night, CNBC reports. This comes after the Disney-owned network took Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air “indefinitely” over the host’s remarks about the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
“With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch,” Colbert said Thursday, according to CNBC.
ABC pulled Kimmel’s show on Wednesday over comments he made during his opening monologue two days prior. Nexstar Media Group, the largest owner of television stations across the country, also said that it would replace Kimmel’s show with “other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
“We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
ABC’s decision came just hours after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Kimmel’s remarks were “truly sick” and suggested ABC’s license could be at risk over it.
"This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson on Wednesday afternoon. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
Colbert said Kimmel’s show was “yanked off air” shortly after Carr’s statements, according to a clip shared on his show’s Instagram.
“This decision came after senior executives at ABC, Disney and affiliates convened emergency meetings, during which multiple execs felt that Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line, but the threat of Trump administration retaliation loomed. As one source at ABC put it, ‘They were pissing themselves all day,’” Colbert said, citing a Rolling Stone article.
Colbert also said that Carr’s comments “sure seem like marching orders,” CNBC reports.
Trump celebrated ABC’s decision in a Truth Social post on Wednesday night.
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump wrote. “Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”
Colbert’s show was canceled earlier this year by CBS, and shortly afterward, reports emerged that the network was losing millions over the program. Kimmel defended Colbert, calling those claims “beyond nonsensical” last month.
Kimmel also erected billboards in Los Angeles urging Emmy voters to support Colbert’s show, Variety reports. Colbert went on to win the Emmy for outstanding talk show over the weekend. He thanked Kimmel and Jon Stewart for their support on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Several big names have joined Colbert in rallying behind Kimmel over the last day.
Former President Barack Obama condemned ABC’s decision on X.
“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like,” Obama wrote.
Former talk show host and comedian David Letterman also criticized the network in an interview with The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.
“I feel bad about this, because we all see where this is going, correct? It’s managed media. It's no good. It's silly. It's ridiculous,” he said. “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. That's just not how this works.”
FormerTonight Show host Jay Leno also weighed in on the decision.
"Welcome to Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen, thank you," Leno said, according to KCAL News. "Once again, free speech reigns supreme here in town."
"It's a comedian talking. If you don't like it, don't watch it," he later added. "I enjoy Jimmy. I like all the guys. I think they're really talented. I like jokes, that's why I watch them."
The Independent has contacted the White House and ABC’s parent company, The Walt Disney Corporation, for comment.
