The abrupt suspension of Jimmy Kimmel from ABC’s airwaves on September 17, 2025, has sent shockwaves through the world of late-night television and ignited a fierce national debate about free speech, government coercion, and the future of American media. The move, which followed Kimmel’s comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, quickly became a lightning rod for controversy, drawing in politicians, fellow comedians, media executives, and viewers across the country.
Vice President Kamala Harris wasted no time in calling ABC’s decision “an outright abuse of power” and a “frontal assault on free speech,” according to CBS News. Former President Barack Obama echoed her concerns, labeling the action “precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent.” The outrage wasn’t limited to politicians: retired late-night legend David Letterman declared at The Atlantic Festival that Kimmel’s treatment was “a misery” aimed at establishing “managed media on behalf of the government.” Letterman added pointedly, “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian, criminal administration in the Oval Office.”
The ripple effects were immediate. Major station owners Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced they would preempt Kimmel’s show on their stations. Nexstar, which is in the midst of a $6.2 billion acquisition of a rival network and requires FCC approval for the deal, insisted in a statement to CBS News that its decision was made unilaterally without prior communication with the FCC or any government agency. Yet, the timing and context left many skeptical, especially as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly stated that his agency had “a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.”
As the dust settled, all eyes turned to the other titans of late-night television. Would they risk their own careers to stand up for Kimmel and the principle of free expression? Or would they play it safe, hoping the storm would pass?
Stephen Colbert, who reportedly learned of Kimmel’s suspension while taping his own show and was “visibly shaken,” wasted no time in addressing the elephant in the room. On September 18, Colbert opened his monologue with a bold declaration: “Tonight we are all Jimmy Kimmel.” He called the suspension “blatant censorship, and it always starts small,” tying the incident to what he described as a budding authoritarianism under President Donald Trump. In a biting parody, Colbert performed an animated version of “Be Our Guest” from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, reworked as “Shut your trap,” lampooning the culture of self-censorship he sees taking root at Disney-owned ABC and beyond. “Our dear leader’s skin is thinner than a sheet of plastic wrap,” Colbert sang in character, before warning, “Don’t insult our great dictator or he’ll hit you with this turd.”
Colbert’s critique didn’t stop at musical satire. He directly addressed the power dynamics at play, asking, “A company apparently capitulating to the whims of the president in order to ensure their merger goes through? Has that ever happened before?” He also brought back his iconic conservative persona from The Colbert Report to satirize the notion of network ombudsmen echoing government talking points. But perhaps most poignantly, Colbert sent a message straight to Kimmel: “I stand with you and your staff 100 percent. And also,” he quipped, clutching his Emmy, “you couldn’t let me enjoy this for, like, one week?!”
Jimmy Fallon, never known for biting political commentary, struck a lighter tone but didn’t shy away from the issue. Opening his show on September 18, Fallon joked, “The big story is that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everyone thinking, ‘WTF?’” He added, “This morning I woke up to 100 text messages from my dad saying, ‘I’m sorry they canceled your show.’” While Fallon admitted he didn’t know all the details, he vouched for Kimmel’s character and expressed hope for his return. Then, in a moment of meta-comedy, an off-air censor interrupted his attempt to joke about President Trump, replacing his punchlines with platitudes. “See, we can still say what we want!” Fallon laughed, poking fun at the new boundaries of acceptable speech.
Seth Meyers, meanwhile, took a more direct approach. In his September 18 monologue, Meyers linked the crackdown on free speech to the Trump administration’s broader policies and drew comparisons to repression in Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. “It is a privilege and honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way it is a privilege and honor to do this show every night. I wake up every day. I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech, and we’re going to continue to do our show as we’ve always done it: with enthusiasm and integrity,” Meyers said. He punctuated his point with a bit of comic relief—a well-timed fart sound—before adding, “This is a big moment in our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression. There’s a reason free speech stands in the very First Amendment. It stands above all others.”
Jon Stewart, who typically hosts The Daily Show only on Mondays, returned for a special Thursday taping, acutely aware of the moment’s gravity. The show opened with a tongue-in-cheek voice-over promising “another fun, hilarious administration-compliant show,” as Stewart nervously fidgeted with his notes and lavishly praised President Trump in a parody of state media. “Coming to you tonight from the real [expletive], the crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?” Stewart deadpanned, in a pointed send-up of Trump’s rhetoric and the gold-embellished Oval Office. The show’s satirical edge was sharpest during Stewart’s interview with Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, who has faced her own battles with authoritarian crackdowns in the Philippines. “We just kept doing our jobs. We just kept putting one foot in front of the other,” Ressa told Stewart, offering a message of resilience to American journalists and viewers alike.
The controversy has also highlighted the role of media consolidation and government regulation in shaping what Americans see—and don’t see—on their screens. Paramount’s recent decision to pull a South Park episode mocking Kirk types, followed by the abrupt postponement of the next episode, has fueled concerns about a chilling effect on satirical and critical voices. Meanwhile, FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Vice President J.D. Vance have both publicly supported censorship efforts, with Carr stating that broadcasters must push back on programming that “falls short of community values.” Colbert, for his part, shot back, “Well, you know what my community values are, buster? Freedom of speech.”
As the late-night community rallies around Kimmel, the broader implications remain unsettled. Is this a temporary aberration or the start of a new era of managed media? For now, the nation’s comics, commentators, and viewers find themselves at a crossroads, forced to reckon with the boundaries of dissent and the fragile state of the First Amendment in modern America.
