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But Colbert’s riposte was firm: “You know what my community values are, buster? Freedom of speech!”
Kimmel’s show was suspended not long after Nexstar Communications Group announced plans to pull the program from its 23 ABC affiliates. Carr called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and said his agency had a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.
There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. In its statement announcing the suspension, ABC didn’t cite a reason.
Seth Meyers also weighed in during his show on Thursday night, accusing the Trump administration of “pursuing a crackdown on free speech”, then joking “if you’ve ever seen me say anything negative about him, that’s just AI”.
Then Meyers devoted his Closer Look segment to examining the issue.
“It is a privilege and an honour to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way that it’s a privilege and honour to do this show every night,” he said.
“I wake up every day, I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech, and we’re gonna keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it: with enthusiasm and integrity.
“We must all stand up for the principles of free expression. There’s a reason free speech is in the very first amendment.”
Veteran host Jon Stewart also used The Daily Show – which he normally hosts only on Mondays – to take aim at the Trump administration over the issue by satirically playing the role of nervous host heaping praise upon the president and the set of the show adorned with decorative gold engravings.
“We have another fun, hilarious administration-compliant show,” the opening voiceover said.
Stewart then referenced Trump’s move to place the National Guard on the streets of Washington DC.
“Coming to you tonight from the real (expletive), the crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?” Stewart said.
He then described Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom this week, calling the president “our great father.”
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“Gaze upon him. With a gait even more majestic than that of the royal horses that prance before him,” he said.
Meanwhile, David Letterman, Colbert’s predecessor on The Late Show, feared for the future of the country.
“I feel bad about this, because we all see where see this is going, correct? It’s managed media,” Letterman said during an appearance Thursday at The Atlantic Festival in New York. “It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous.”
He added that people shouldn’t be fired just because they don’t “suck up” to what Letterman called “an authoritarian” president.
During his opening monologue on Thursday (Friday AEST), Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon said: “The big story is that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everyone thinking, ‘WTF?’”
“To be honest with you all, I don’t know what’s going on, and no one does. But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he’s a decent, funny and loving guy, and I hope he comes back,” he said.
Fallon also took a similar approach to Stewart, telling the audience he would keep covering Trump “just like I normally would,” before a voiceover began to drown him out with extravagant praise for the president.
While current President Trump welcomed ABC’s move on social media, former President Barack Obama expressed alarm.
“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 posted on social media. “This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
Comedian Wanda Sykes was also critical.
“I was supposed to go over and have a chat with my friend Jimmy Kimmel on his show, but as you have heard by now, the Jimmy Kimmel Show has been pulled indefinitely,” Sykes posted on social media. “Abruptly, because of complaints from the Trump administration. So let’s see. He didn’t end the Ukraine war or solve Gaza within his first week. But he did end freedom of speech within his first year. Hey, for those of you who pray, now’s the time to do it. Love you Jimmy.”
And comic Mike Birbiglia issued a call to arms to his fellow performers.
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“I’ve spent a lot of time in public & private defending comedians I don’t agree with. If you’re a comedian & you don’t call out the insanity of pulling Kimmel off the air — don’t bother spouting off about free speech anymore,” Birbiglia posted on social media.
Hacks star Jean Smart, who plays a late-night show host in recent seasons of the Emmy Award-winning comedy, said she was “horrified” in a strident social media post.
“I am horrified at the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live. What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech,” Smart said. “People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda. Though I didn’t agree at ALL with Charlie Kirk; his shooting death sickened me; and should have sickened any decent human being. What is happening to our country?”
With Associated Press
