Jimmy Kimmel, the ever-irreverent late-night host and longtime critic of Donald Trump, has revealed he now holds Italian citizenship—a move he says is part of a contingency plan to "escape" the United States should he find himself canceled in the wake of Trump’s return to the White House. The news, which broke on August 11, 2025, during Kimmel's candid appearance on the Sarah Silverman Podcast, has set off a fresh round of debate about freedom of expression, cancel culture, and the shifting sands of American entertainment under renewed political pressure.
“I did get Italian citizenship, I do have that. What's going on is as bad as you thought it was gonna be,” Kimmel confessed, according to RadarOnline.com and the Mirror US. “It's so much worse, it's just unbelievable—I feel like it's probably even worse than he would like it to be.” Kimmel, 57, didn’t mince words as he described the atmosphere in the U.S. since Trump’s victory in the November 2024 election, painting a picture of an industry and a country in turmoil.
The backdrop to Kimmel’s remarks is a renewed feud between Trump and some of late night’s biggest names. In a recent Oval Office interview, Trump, never one to shy away from a verbal jab, declared, “Fallon has no talent. Kimmel has no talent. They're next. They're going to be going, I hear they're going to be going.” The comment, as reported by RadarOnline.com and echoed in the Mirror US, came as Trump addressed rumors swirling around radio giant Howard Stern’s rumored split from SiriusXM. The implication was clear: late-night hosts critical of Trump could soon find themselves out of work.
Trump, for his part, has denied directly orchestrating the recent shakeups in late-night television. According to a report from a week ago, he insisted he had not fired Stephen Colbert, but warned that Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel might be next in what many are calling a late-night TV purge. Still, the climate of uncertainty is palpable. Just last month, Stephen Colbert, another vocal Trump critic, announced his show would come to an end next year, citing low viewership and declining profits. CBS, which airs Colbert, attributed the decision to business realities, but critics suspect that the network bowed to political pressure from the White House.
The cancellation of Colbert’s show followed a controversial $16 million settlement between Paramount (CBS’s parent company) and Trump, who had sued over allegedly deceptive editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Colbert himself called the settlement a “big fat bribe,” and within two days, the announcement of his show’s end hit the airwaves. It’s a sequence of events that has left many in the entertainment industry—especially those with progressive leanings—wondering who might be next.
Kimmel’s response to this climate has been characteristically sharp, but also reflective. He’s not just worried about political reprisals; he’s also concerned about what he describes as the “loud” left and the impact of cancel culture. “It's not the party. It's not the majority. It's the loud voices that scare people from saying what they believe and make you think twice about a joke,” he explained on the Sarah Silverman Podcast. “You know, a lot of their points are valid, but a lot of them are also just repulsive, in that they repel people. They go like, 'Oh, you're no fun. I don't want to be around you.' And I think if you had to boil it down to one thing, that's kind of what it is.”
This tension isn’t just theoretical for Kimmel and his peers. Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell, two other celebrities with liberal credentials and a history of tangling with Trump, have already left the U.S. in the wake of his electoral victory—DeGeneres decamping to England, O’Donnell to Ireland. Their departures, reported by RadarOnline.com, are seen by some as a bellwether for a broader exodus of creative talent should the political climate continue to sour.
Yet Kimmel, for all his criticism of Trump and the current state of American discourse, isn’t ready to write off those who have supported the president in the past. In a notable exchange with Sarah Silverman, he pushed back against the idea that former Trump voters should be ostracized if they change their minds. “I don't believe the 'f--- you, you supported him.' If you wanna change your mind, that's so hard to do. If you want to admit you were wrong, that's hard and so rare to do, you are welcome,” he said. It’s a sentiment that stands in contrast to the more punitive instincts of some on the left, and one that Kimmel seems eager to emphasize as the country lurches through another period of division.
The broader entertainment industry, meanwhile, is grappling with what feels like an era of uncertainty and retrenchment. The end of Colbert’s show, the legal battles between Trump and major networks, and the high-profile departures of stars like DeGeneres and O’Donnell have all contributed to a sense that the old rules no longer apply. According to RadarOnline.com, CBS attributed Colbert’s cancellation to business factors, but critics remain unconvinced, pointing to the timing of the Paramount settlement and Trump’s repeated public attacks on late-night hosts.
For Kimmel, the idea of “escape” isn’t just about personal safety or career security. It’s about the ability to keep doing what he loves—making people laugh and, occasionally, making them think—without fear of reprisal from either end of the political spectrum. His Italian citizenship, he says, is a backup plan, not a first choice. But in a media landscape where political winds can shift overnight, it’s a plan he’s glad to have.
Even as Kimmel prepares for the worst, he continues to speak out. In his recent podcast appearance, he and Silverman discussed the backlash facing not just comedians, but also Trump voters who have begun to express regret for supporting the president’s return to office. Silverman pointed to prominent podcaster Joe Rogan, who faced criticism after voicing disapproval of Trump’s second administration. Kimmel’s response was unequivocal: “If you wanna change your mind, that's so hard to do. If you want to admit you were wrong, that's hard and so rare to do, you are welcome.”
As the late-night landscape shifts and the country’s political climate grows ever more polarized, Kimmel’s story serves as both a cautionary tale and a rallying cry. For now, he remains on American soil, Italian passport in hand, ready for whatever comes next. But his message is clear: in a time of uncertainty, a little preparation—and a lot of humor—might just be the best defense.
