Stephen Colbert weighed in on the Jimmy Kimmel drama on Thursday’s (September 18) The Late Show, calling ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air a “blatant assault on freedom of speech.” He also brought back his beloved right-wing cable news pundit persona from his days on Comedy Central.
“Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel,” Colbert said at the top of Thursday’s monologue, reminding viewers how ABC suspended Kimmel “indefinitely” after threats from Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr related to comments Kimmel made about the Charlie Kirk shooting on Monday’s (September 14) show.
“That is blatant censorship,” Colbert continued, adding “it always starts small” and noting how, at the start of President Donald Trump‘s presidency, he wanted to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
“Sure, seems harmless, but with an autocrat, you cannot give an inch!” the late-night host stated. “And to Jimmy and all his staff, I stand with you one hundred per cent, and also… You couldn’t let me enjoy this for like one week,” he quipped, taking out his Emmy trophy.
After airing a clip of Kimmel’s supposedly offensive comments, Colbert stated, “Given the FCC response, I was expecting something more provocative. That’s like hearing that Playboy has a racy new center folder, and finding out it’s just Jimmy Kimmel.”
Colbert then turned his attention to Carr, airing his statements where he made thinly veiled threats to ABC affiliates in order to pressure ABC to pull Kimmel off the air.
“Shortly after Carr makes his statements about ABC, Kimmel gets yanked off the air. 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,” Colbert continued.
“As one source at ABC put it, they were pissing themselves all day. On the bright side, that proves Disney is No. 1 in streaming,” he joked.
Elsewhere on Thursday’s Late Show, the comedian resurrected his right-wing cable news persona from The Colbert Report and brought back his popular segment The Word. Colbert launched into a Republican-favored monologue about how Americans should never “complain, no matter what the President does,” while text in a side-chyron contradicted his words.
“Give up, America. Just give up and stop saying anything that might upset the president,” Colbert concluded the segment. “If you think that’s a terrible idea, no, you don’t.”
You can watch Colbert’s full opening monologue and The Word segment in the videos above and let us know your thoughts below.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
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