Jimmy Kimmel suspended: How late-night hosts are taking a stand for free speech

Late-night talkshow hosts have stepped up to voice their support for Jimmy Kimmel following the “indefinite” suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. 

Earlier this week, it was announced that Kimmel’s long-running show has been pulled from the Disney-owned ABC network over the host’s recent comments following Charlie Kirk’s death.  

This follows the July announcement that CBS would cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert next May – an announcement which came three days after Colbert criticised the $16 million settlement between US President Donald Trump and Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, over the editing of a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris on the show 60 Minutes. Colbert branded the move a “big fat bribe”. 

The latest assault on free speech has sparked worries around political censorship and who might be next in Trump’s grand plan to reshape the US media landscape and rid himself of anyone critical of him and his administration.  

Here is what Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts said about the worrying situation.

Stephen Colbert: 'We are all Jimmy Kimmel'

Colbert started his monologue on Thursday with the animated song ‘Be Our Guest’ from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, but replaced the lyrics with “Shut your trap. Shut your trap.”

He condemned the cancellation as a "blatant assault on freedom of speech" and later addressed Kimmel directly, saying that he stands with him and his staff: “If ABC thinks that this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive.”

“With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch,” Colbert added. “Jimmy, I stand with you and your staff 100%.” 

Colbert also responded to remarks made by Brendan Carr, Trump’s handpicked head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Carr said it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming as “they determine falls short of community values.”

“Well, you know what my community values are, buster? Freedom of speech,” Colbert said to loud applause from his audience. 

David Letterman: 'An authoritarian criminal administration'

Late-night legend David Letterman — Colbert's predecessor on The Late Show — also defended Kimmel, saying: “I feel bad about this, because we all see where this is going, correct? It’s managed media.” 

During the interview at The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York, Letterman added: ‘It’s silly, it’s ridiculous,” and stated that people shouldn’t be fired just because they don’t “suck up” to “an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office”.  

John Stewart: 'Trump-approved'

Stewart satirised the situation by describing himself as a "patriotically obedient host" and his programme as "administration-compliant".  

He referred to Trump as "dear leader" and “our great father” before aptly introducing his guest Maria Ressa, a journalist and author of the book “How To Stand Up To A Dictator”.

Ressa, who is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was asked for tips on coping with the current moment. She recounted how she and her colleagues at the news site Rappler “just kept going” when she was faced with 11 arrest warrants in one year under Philippine then-President Rodrigo Duterte. 

“We just kept doing our jobs. We just kept putting one foot in front of the other.”

Jimmy Fallon: 'I hope he comes back'

Fallon opened his Tonight Show monologue addressing Kimmel’s suspension: “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 continued: "A lot of people are worried that we won't keep saying what we want to say or that we'll be censored. But I'm going to cover the president's trip to the UK like I normally would..."

Then an announcer spoke over him and replaced most of his critiques about Donald Trump with flattery, like "he looked incredibly handsome" and that his tie was "exactly the right length."

Seth Meyers: 'A pivotal moment in our democracy'

Meyers said: "Donald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the UK, while back here at home, his administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech… and completely unrelated, I just wanted to say that I have always admired and respected Mr Trump.”  

He continued by joking: “I have always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, and an even better golfer." 

Later in the segment, Meyers made reference to former President Barack Obama, who called out the cancellation of Kimmel's show as a violation of the country's founding principles, and added: "It is a privilege and an honour to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way that it's a privilege and an honour to do this show every night."

"We're going to keep doing our show the way we've always done it - with enthusiasm and integrity." This was followed by a fart noise, before Meyers got serious again.

"This is a pivotal moment in our democracy and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression. There's a reason free speech is in the very First Amendment. It stands above all others."

Considering Trump is using the apparatus of the federal government to pressure companies to reshape the public dialogue, let’s hope that, unlike the Disney-owned ABC, other media companies can stand up for their hosts' rights to freely express themselves.