Bill Maher joined the chorus of late-night voices defending Jimmy Kimmel Friday on the latest episode of HBO’s Real Time.
“Well, I guess you all heard Jimmy Kimmel, my friend, my compatriot, he’s canned by ABC for comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s assassin,” Maher said of the controversy.
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“The day right after [he made the comments], the head of the FCC said he’s gonna revoke ABC’s license. Let me just tell you something: I am not intimidated by the FCC. And if President Trump is watching, I have one thing to say to you: ‘Have you lost weight? You look terrific.’ No, that’s not me and never will be.”
In the aftermath of Disney/ABC’s decision to “indefinitely” shelve Jimmy Kimmel Live, current and former late-night hosts like David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, and even Jay Leno have backed Kimmel, with Kamala Harris and dozens more politicians slammed Trump and the FCC’s attempts to stifle free speech.
“Jimmy, pal, I am with you, I support you, and on the bright side, you don’t have to pretend anymore that you like Disneyland,” Maher added. “That was always a great part of it for me.”
As the Real Time host noted, he too lost his ABC show, Politically Incorrect, following controversial comments he made following the 9/11 attacks. “It was 24 years to the day that I made comments on ABC that got me canceled from that network, and Jimmy Kimmel took my slot,” Maher said.
“Oh yes, I got canceled before cancel even had a culture… This shit ain’t new. It’s worse, we’ll get to that, but you know, ABC, they are steady. ABC stands for ‘Always Be Caving.’”
While the fate of Jimmy Kimmel Live remains in flux — the show’s future appears to hinge on whether its upcoming Brooklyn residency happens — Maher reflected on Kimmel’s legacy at the network as if his tenure was over. “Jimmy, let me just say, you did a great, funny show for two decades,” Maher said. “You should be proud of that. If this firing goes for you the way it did for me, you’ll get 23 years on a better network.”
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