Stephen Colbert called Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite removal from ABC’s lineup a form of “blatant censorship” during the taping of his Thursday, Sept. 18 Late Show.
On Wednesday, Sept. 17, ABC and Nextstar confirmed with PEOPLE that Kimmel’s show would be pulled because of his recent remarks about Charlie Kirk.
After the announcement, Colbert said during a Q&A before his Thursday taping, per New York Post, “I’ll say this for my network. They wouldn’t have done this. Now regardless of what you think, that has already been done and how that looks, this is weak. This is blatant censorship.”
“With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch,” Colbert added, according to CNBC, “Jimmy, I stand with you and your staff 100%.”
ABC’s decision came two days after Kimmel mentioned Kirk in his Monday, Sept. 15, monologue. Kirk was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. He was 31.
During the monologue, Kimmel said in part, “We 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.”
The news of Kimmel’s show comes exactly two months after Colbert, 61, announced that his show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, was canceled by CBS.
CBS’ decision came days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, during his July 14 episode for its July 3 $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump. Trump had alleged that CBS News’ 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount was completing a merger with Skydance, which required approval from Trump’s administration.
After the news of Colbert’s show was shared, Kimmel reacted on Instagram Stories, posting a clip of Colbert from the Friday, July 17 broadcast and wrote, “Love you Stephen.”
He also called out the network behind the decision, saying, “F— you and all your Sheldons CBS.”
