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Stephen Colbert joked that he’s now the “only martyr in late night,” following news that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would go back on air.
The host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” said in a Monday episode that he was happy to start the show with some good news.
“Just a few hours before we taped this broadcast, we got word that our long national late-night nightmare is over, because Disney announced that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will return to air on ABC tomorrow, Tuesday night,” he said, to loud cheers and applause.
Colbert said, “This is wonderful news for my dear friend Jimmy and his amazing staff that he can continue his show.”
Disney suspended Kimmel’s show on Wednesday, after Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, slammed Kimmel’s comments about the killing of the conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
The suspension caused an uproar from Hollywood, politicians, and late-night show hosts, who criticized the Trump administration’s clampdown on free speech.
Colbert on Thursday called Disney’s decision a “blatant assault on the freedom of speech.”
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But on Monday, Disney reversed its decision, saying in a statement that it had spent the last days “having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy” and decided to return the show on Tuesday.
Get caught up on the fallout over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension:
In his episode, Colbert joked that he was once more the only late-night casualty, given that CBS had decided to pull the plug on his show, and it would stop airing from May 2026.
“Once more, I am the only martyr in late night. Unless, wait, CBS, you want to announce anything?” he said, to laughter from the crowd.
He also joked that one reason Disney reversed its decision could have been that Google searches for “cancel Disney” had spiked after the announcement.
Another late-night host, Jon Stewart, also commented on Disney reversing its decision in a Monday episode of “The Daily Show,” saying that the public’s backlash against the decision helped bring Kimmel’s show back. He added that Americans still need to “fight like hell for this constitutional republic.”
Representatives for Colbert did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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