Late-Night Hosts "Flatter" Trump After Kimmel Suspension
Late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart joked during their Thursday shows that the only way to stay on air was by flattering President Trump.
The bits came a day after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel's show, following FCC backlash to a Monday monologue in which Kimmel suggested Charlie Kirk’s killer might be a MAGA supporter.
NEW TONE
Fallon's Thursday monologue was repeatedly “corrected” by an announcer praising Trump’s looks and actions. Colbert — whose show is in its final season amid speculation about a CBS deal to appease the administration — revived his old conservative "Colbert Report" persona. Meanwhile, Stewart promised his show would be “administration compliant.”
Colbert later struck a more serious tone, saying he stood by Kimmel and warned that Trump was an “autocrat” who “you cannot give an inch” to.
Censorship in comedy is nothing new. The U.S. courts have upheld that comedians have the right to speak freely, but that certain materials are limited on public airwaves. That’s why cable networks outside FCC regulation have some of the most provocative shows.
"Standup comedy as we all understand it, modern-era standup comedy, only existed in America because of free speech,” comic Kamau Bell said Thursday, noting legal battles fought by Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Dick Gregory to secure standups’ rights.
The other side: Many conservatives, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), note there is no love lost over these shows going off the air. Some Americans find comics’ criticism of Trump irritating, and with ratings already slipping, they argue the shows could have been canceled for financial reasons soon enough.
Still, even Cruz called it “dangerous” for the FCC to be threatening the media.