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David Letterman stood up for current generation of late night TV hosts in response to the stunning suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
ABC announced Kimmel’s suspension Wednesday evening. The decision — largely motivated by pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration — came after Kimmel accused the MAGA movement of trying to paint Charlie Kirk’s suspected shooter as left-wing and not one of them. Kimmel’s comments were at odds with the most recent information on the suspect, which suggested he did indeed have liberal views.
The suspension was celebrated by Trump, who said in a Truth Social post that he wanted Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers to get the same treatment.
Two months earlier, CBS announced that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would air its final episode in May 2026. Although the company claim it was a “financial decision,” critics speculated the move was yet another capitulation to Trump.
Speaking Thursday at The Atlantic Festival, Letterman warned the treatment of late night hosts signaled a era of censorship he dubbed “managed media.”
Well, this is misery and in the world of somebody who is an authoritarian — maybe a dictatorship — sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched. But this is me. For 30 years, I did this for a living. So I see this happen. They took care of Colbert. That was rude. That was inexcusable. The man deserved a great deal of credit. He’s in the Hall of Fame nine times! And to be manipulated like that because the the Ellison family didn’t want to trouble Donald Trump with this move, so they got rid of him — not only got rid of him, got rid of the whole franchise! You’re not gonna have to worry about anything, [Larry Ellison]. It’s all gone! It’s fine. Good night.
And then my good friend Jimmy Kimmel. I just, I feel bad about this because we all see where this is going, correct? It’s managed media and it’s no good. It’s silly; it’s ridiculous; and you can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.
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