![](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F09%2F35-p-m-et-features-111696053.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One day after \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d was pulled off the air<\/a>, comedian Seth Meyers slammed the Trump administration\u2019s \u201ccrackdown\u201d on free speech during his late-night show, while calling it a \u201cprivilege\u201d to know Kimmel.<\/p>\n \u201cDonald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the United Kingdom, where he was met with protest, while back here at home, his administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech,\u201d Meyers said before his \u201cA Closer Look\u201d segment.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd completely unrelated, I just want to say before we get started here that I\u2019ve always admired and respected Mr. Trump,\u201d Meyers joked.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, an even better golfer, and if you\u2019ve ever seen me say anything negative about him, that\u2019s just AI,\u201d he sarcastically quipped. <\/p>\n The comedian, 51, then followed his sarcasm with a joke-filled monologue poking fun at Trump\u2019s visit to the UK.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSay what you will about the Trump administration, but the issue is clearly very important to them,\u201d Meyers said, playing several clips of the president declaring he was \u201cbringing back free speech in America.\u201d<\/p>\n He then played several news clips and interviews about ABC\u2019s decision to fire Kimmel \u2014 including remarks from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who stated the decision to axe the show took a page from an authorization playbook.<\/p>\n \u201cMay I just say, it is a privilege and honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend, the same way it is a privilege and honor to do this show every night. I wake up every day and count my blessings that I at least live in a country that purports to value freedom of speech,\u201d Meyers said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep doing our show like we always do with enthusiasm and integrity,\u201d Meyers said as a sound bite of a fart played over his words.<\/p>\n A guest appearance from actor Jason Bateman \u2014 who had earlier slammed Kimmel\u2019s suspension \u2014 followed Meyers\u2019 monologue.<\/p>\n His appearance comes on the heels of his\u00a0remarks on the \u201cToday\u201d show Thursday morning<\/a>, calling Kimmel\u2019s suspension \u201ctroubling to say the least\u201d and warning that \u201cyou just can\u2019t stand by and let stuff like that go.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cOzark\u201d star, promoting his new Netflix series \u201cBlack Rabbit,\u201d added that \u201cwe all have to really take a moment and figure how we feel about this type of thing,\u201d telling host Craig Melvin, \u201cespecially, people doing what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n But on \u201cLate Night with Seth Meyers,\u201d Bateman was tight-lipped about Kimmel for the entirety of his appearance.<\/p>\n Kimmel\u2019s show was indefinitely suspended on Wednesday following the comedian\u2019s\u00a0controversial remarks about assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kimmel, 57, \u00a0said Monday night that the \u201cMAGA gang\u201d was trying to score political points off Kirk\u2019s murder after the\u00a031-year-old was shot dead on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,\u201d Kimmel said during his monologue.<\/p>\n President Trump upped the ante with a Truth Social post late Wednesday, <\/a>congratulating ABC for pulling Kimmel and calling upon NBC to do the same to Meyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGreat News for America: The ratings-challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that\u2019s possible,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThat leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT\u201d<\/p>\n Meyers did not directly acknowledge Trump\u2019s call for action during Thursday\u2019s show.<\/p>\n The comedian frequently uses his nightly platform to skewer Trump, trading several jabs with the president over the years.<\/p>\n Just last month, the president\u00a0fumed over NBC renewing the late-night host\u2019s contract through 2028<\/a>, calling Meyers one of the \u201cleast talented\u201d on television and mocking his ratings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a sick rumor going around that Fake News NBC extended the contract of one of the least talented Late Night television hosts out there, Seth Meyers,\u201d Trump said on Truth Social.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe has no Ratings, Talent, or Intelligence, and the Personality of an insecure child. So, why would Fake News NBC extend this dope\u2019s contract. I don\u2019t know, but I\u2019ll definitely be finding out!!!\u201d<\/p>\n The insult came just weeks after Trump\u00a0reveled in the cancellation of Stephen Colbert\u2019s \u201cThe Late Show\u201d<\/a>\u00a0on CBS.\u00a0The show will end in May 2026. <\/p>\n On Monday, Meyers poked fun at another one of Trump\u2019s weekend Truth Social posts, where he wrote, \u201cI would rather go to ribbon cuttings than to ground breakings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere goes the voice of the common man again,\u201d Meyers deadpanned on \u201cLate Night,\u201d \u00a0joking that Trump sounds like \u201ca stand-up comic who got too rich and can\u2019t relate to people anymore,\u201d\u00a0celebrity.land reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, he also acknowledged Trump\u2019s remarks that he had become \u201cstuck\u201d watching \u201cMarble Mouth Meyers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a \u2018network\u2019 run by a truly bad group of people \u2014 Remember, they also run MSDNC,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social in January. \u201cI got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt has come to my attention that sometimes people who do not care for me get stuck watching my show. And to those people, I would just say: You have my sympathy, and I hope you get a TV soon that allows you to change the channel,\u201d Meyers fired back on air,\u00a0according to Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meyers has previously criticized several other aspects of the Trump administration, including offering a sobering monologue to call for the president\u2019s removal during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots.<\/p>\n
Disney<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n