Late-night hosts gather behind Jimmy Kimmel after ABC suspension
Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers and John Stewart respond to the threats from Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC suspension and the FCC.
Stephen Colbert welcomes his fellow Jimmy Kimmel late at night.
On the September 22 episode of “The Late Show,” the comedian responded to the news that ABC has finished Kimmel’s suspension and is bringing his show back into the air this week.
“Our long, national late-night director is over,” Colbert declared in a preview clip shared by social media “The Late Show.”
When Colbert announced the news of Kimmel’s return, the audience in his studio exploded with cheers. He described lifting Kimmel’s stop as “great news for my dear friend Jimmy and his amazing staff.”
Colbert also continued a little since his September 18th monologue. There he acted anger at how Kimmel’s controversy overshadowed the news that “Late Show” had won Emmy for an outstanding talk series.
“Now Jimmy hasn’t been cancelled, so I can enjoy this again,” Colbert said, lifting up Emmy. “Again, I’m the only martian late at night!”
However, referring to the cancellation of “Late Show,” Colbert jokingly added:
ABC announced earlier that day on September 22nd, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” It will return on September 23rd, almost a week after it was suspended indefinitely.
Kimmel was pulled out of the air after saying that “Magagang” was desperately trying to characterize “as a suspected killer of Charlie Kirk” after facing pressure from the FCC over comments made by the comedian. Kimmel also laughed at President Donald Trump’s reaction to Kirk’s fatal shooting.
In a statement on September 22, Disney said “we have made the decision to suspend production of the show to avoid further inflaming the tense situation in our country’s emotional moments,” and that “some of the comments felt badly timed and therefore insensitive.”
But “We had our last day of thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney said.
Colbert, whose “Late Show” ends in May 2026 after CBS announced its cancellation in July, has previously joined Kimmel’s chorus of support. In a monologue on his show on September 18th, Colbert accused Kimmel of suspension as “blatant censorship.”
“If the ABC thinks this will meet the administration, they’re grossly naive and obviously, if they give the mouse Kimmel, they won’t read a book for kids,” Colbert said. “And let Jimmy say I’m 100% standing with you and your staff.”
“And again, he said before grabbing Emmy, “You couldn’t enjoy this for me for a week?”
