US talk show host Stephen Colbert has condemned the cancellation of fellow late-night star Jimmy Kimmel as a “blatant assault on freedom of speech”, as America’s top late night presenters came out fighting.

He used the opening of Thursday night’s edition of his Late Show to address the pulling of Jimmy Kimmel Live over comments made about the assassination of the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel used his show earlier this week to accuse the Trump administration and its allies of “working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk”, with the president among those to pin it on left-wing extremism.

The move by Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised, with the network accused of kowtowing to President Donald Trump, who celebrated the decision.

Also airing on Thursday night, Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s Daily Show, appeared in a garish gold set, in parody of Mr Trump’s redesign of the White House, to tell viewers the episode would be “another fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show”.

Stewart, playing the role of an over-the-top, politically obsequious TV host under authoritarian rule, lavished praise on the president and satirised his criticism of US cities and his deployment of the National Guard to fight crime.

“Coming to you tonight from the real […] 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?” he said.

He then introduced his guest – Maria Ressa, a journalist and author of the book How To Stand Up To A Dictator.

Over at The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon told his audience he was “not sure what was going on” but that Kimmel is “a decent funny and loving guy and I hope he comes back”.

Fallon then promised viewers that in spite of people being “worried that we won’t keep saying what we want to say or that we will be censored”, he was going to cover the president’s recent trip to the UK “just like I normally would”.

He was then replaced by a voiceover describing Mr Trump as “incredibly handsome” and “making America great again”.

Seth Meyers also joined the fray.

“Donald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the UK,” he said at the top of his show Late Night, “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.

“I have always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, and an even better golfer.”

Kimmel’s removal from the show he has hosted for two decades led to criticism that free speech was under attack.

But speaking on his visit to Britain, Donald Trump claimed he was suspended “because he had bad ratings”.

It came after fellow late-night host Colbert saw his programme cancelled earlier this year, which fans claimed was also down to his criticism of Mr Trump, who has since railed against Kimmel, Meyers, and Fallon.

He has posted on Truth Social that they should all be cancelled.

Figures from both the worlds of entertainment and politics lined up to lament ABC’s removal of Kimmel.

Chat show doyenne David Letterman said people should not be fired just because they don’t “suck up” to what he called “an authoritarian” president.

During an appearance at The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York on Thursday night, he added: “It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous.

“I feel bad about this, because we all see where see this is going, correct? It’s managed media.”

Former US president Barack Obama wrote on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”

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Donald Trump has claimed Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show was pulled off the air because of “bad ratings”.

Kimmel’s programme on US network ABC was axed after he criticised the US president and his allies for their response to the assassination of the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

The decision led to accusations that free speech was under attack in the US, with Democrats including former US president Barack Obama and a number of celebrities sounding an alarm.

Mr Trump said: “Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings, more than anything else.”

“And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.

Speaking at a news conference alongside Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Trump added: “Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago.

“So, you know, you could call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.”

The latest season of Jimmy Kimmel Live averaged 1.57 million viewers per episode, according to media research firm Nielsen – and the show’s YouTube channel has almost 21 million subscribers.

What did Kimmel say?

Kimmel made the controversial remark on Monday night.

He said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Speaking about Mr Trump, he added: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

“Many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk,” he continued.

Free speech under attack?

Disney-owned ABC then said the show would be taken off air indefinitely, and with immediate effect, after network operator Nexstar – which operates a number of ABC affiliates – said it would stop broadcasting it.

But the move – months after fellow CBS late-night show host Stephen Colbert saw his programme cancelled – sparked concern over the state of freedom of speech in the country.

Former US president Barack Obama wrote on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”

A string of high-profile celebrities, including actor Ben Stiller, criticised the decision.

Mr Stiller reacted to another post on the news, replying: “This isn’t right.”

Actress Alison Brie said in an Instagram story: “This is unreal. And very scary.”

Actress Jean Smart and comedian Alex Edelman also attacked the move.

What happened

Kimmel’s comments led to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Trump backer Brendan Carr, threatening to “take action” against Disney and ABC.

In an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, he said: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

After the show was pulled, he then praised Nexstar’s broadcasting division, saying “it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values”.

Kimmel’s suspension has triggered outrage from Democrats like California Governor Gavin Newsom, who posted on X: “The @GOP [Republican Party] does not believe in free speech. They are censoring you in real time.”

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called for people “across the political spectrum… to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel”.

A representative for Kimmel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He has not issued any statement since the show’s withdrawal.

Both Disney and Nexstar have FCC business ahead of them. Disney is seeking regulatory approval for ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network and Nexstar needs the Trump administration go-ahead to complete its $6.2bn purchase of broadcast rival Tegna.

Mr Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday. Prosecutors said he had expressed negative views about Mr Kirk, an influential media figure in the MAGA movement.