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“Late Night” host Seth Meyers said on Thursday that ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel was a pivotal moment for America’s democracy.
Meyers was talking about President Donald Trump’s recent state visit to the UK when he brought up Kimmel’s suspension. ABC said on Wednesday that it was taking “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off air “indefinitely” because of Kimmel’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s death.
“Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he’s doing the opposite, and it has experts worried that we are rapidly devolving into repressive autocracy in the style of Russia or Hungary, much faster than anyone could have predicted,” Meyers said on the show’s “A Closer Look” segment.
“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 is in the very first amendment. It stands above all others,” he said at the end of the segment.
Representatives for Meyers and Kimmel did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
On Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr thanked ABC broadcast affiliate Nexstar in an X post. Carr’s comments came after Nexstar said it would pull Kimmel’s show from its stations.
“While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values,” Carr wrote. Disney owns ABC.
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Meyers said in his show on Thursday that he considers it “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.”
“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 gonna keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity,” he added.
Separately, Meyers appears to be in Trump’s crosshairs too.
Trump called for Meyers’ dismissal in a Truth Social post he wrote on Wednesday while congratulating ABC on suspending Kimmel’s show.
“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible,” Trump wrote. CBS said in July that it was canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after next year.
“That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” Trump said of the network’s hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Meyers.
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