Stephen Colbert supports Jimmy Kimmel following his show's cancellation, seemingly calls Trump an "autocrat"

American comedian and writer Stephen Colbert recently defended fellow American television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel after his ABC show got cancelled. According to CNBC, the 61-year-old television host defended Kimmel during the opening monolugue of his CBS show on Thursday night.

Stephen Colbert reportedly mocked executives at Disney, which is ABC's parent company, for allegedly giving in to threats from Brendan Carr, the FCC chair and pulling Kimmel off the air.

Disagreeing with ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Stephen Colbert said:

“I’m your host, Steven Colbert, but tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel.”

Speaking to his audience at The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the 61-year-old TV host argued against the Disney-owned network’s decision to call off Kimmel’s late night show after being pressure from FCC. During his opening monolugue, Colbert also seemingly called out US President Donald Trump for his involvement in the same matter.

“This is blatant censorship… With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch, ,and if ABC thinks this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive,” Steven Colbert said.

Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert also sent his support to Kimmel. He added:

“Jimmy, I stand with you and your staff 100%.”

For the unversed, Kimmel's late-night show was suspended after he reportedly made comments about the Trump administration’s response to the death of political activist Charlie Kirk. During his now infamous September 15 monologue, Jimmy Kimmel reportesly said:

“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 and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

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US TV hosts comes to Jimmy Kimmel’s defense following the suspension of his late-night show

Besides Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel also received support from other US TV hosts after his nate-night show was cancelled by ABC. On Thursday, September 18, 2025, Jon Stewart who hosts Comedy Central’s The Daily Show called out Donald Trump by using a new intro of a voiceover, which said:

“From Comedy Central, it's the all new, government-approved Daily Show with your patriotically obedient host, Jon Stewart.”

According to Time Magazine, after Donald Trump said that Jimmy is not an “not a talented person,” Stewart quipped:

“In America, we have a little something called the First Amendment, and let me tell you how it works. There’s something called a talent-ometer. It’s a completely scientific instrument that is kept on the President’s desk, and it tells the President when a performer’s TQ, Talent Quotient, measured mostly by niceness to the President, goes below a certain level, at which point the FCC must be notified.”

Jimmy Kimmel (Image via Getty)

Notably, on Thursday, Seth Meyers also took to his A Closer Look segment on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and defended the 57-year-old host. According to Time Magazine, he said:

“It is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend, in the same way that it’s a privilege and honor to do this show every night.”

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Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on neck last Wednesday, September 10, while he was adressing a large crowd at the campus of Utah Valley University. Authorities have reportedly attested Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man suspected of his shooting act. He was charged with aggravated murder, among other counts.

Edited by Afreen Shaikh