Late Night host Seth Meyers has responded to Jimmy Kimmel's suspension by ABC with a message of support for his fellow late night host, along with A Closer Look at censorship and free speech in Donald Trump's America.
The late show host and longtime Trump critic opened Thursday night's show in the same manner as The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, jokingly pandering that "he's always admired and respected Mr. Trump" and "if you've ever seen me say anything negative about him, that's just AI."
Back into it for real, Meyers dug into the hypocrisy of the Trump administration's stated obsession with "restoring free speech," showing a montage of the president claiming to have done just that. In true Late Night form, Meyers then played a montage that undercut these claims: the news reports announcing ABC's indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the host's Monday comments about Republican reactions to right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk's killer. From here, Meyers went in on censorship and free speech in relation to the Trump administration.
"Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he's doing the opposite," said Meyers. "And it has experts worried that we're rapidly devolving into oppressive autocracy in the style of Russia or Hungary much faster than anyone could have predicted."
Meyers ended the monologue with words of support for his friend, Kimmel, and an acknowledgement of the role that late night shows play in a functioning democracy.
"May I just say it is 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 going to keep doing our show the way we've always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity.
"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."
Watch the other late night hosts' reactions to Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.
