At The Atlantic Festival in New York, David Letterman made it clear: suspending Jimmy Kimmel isn’t just a late-night shake-up — it’s a warning sign.
“This is misery,” Letterman told the audience. The legendary host, who pioneered irreverent late-night comedy for over three decades, didn’t mince words about what he sees as political pressure silencing voices in entertainment. “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an … administration,” he said.
ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! Indefinitely over the remarks Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk earlier this week. The move came after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened repercussions over a controversial on-air remark. The New York Times reported Carr told the broadcaster, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” regarding Kimmel’s comments.
Letterman, never one to dodge uncomfortable truths, called it exactly what it looked like — a power play. “Who is hiring these goons — Mario Puzo?” he cracked, comparing the threat to mob-style intimidation.
According to Letterman, Kimmel reached out the morning of his suspension. “He’s up in bed, taking nourishment,” Letterman said. “He’s going to be fine.” Still, the host made it clear that Kimmel’s ousting, alongside the earlier cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, is part of a broader pattern of suppression.
‘We Were Never Squeezed’
In his own era, Letterman says political figures may have taken heat, but the pressure never came down from above. “Not once were we squeezed by anyone from any governmental agency, let alone the dreaded FCC,” he said.
Letterman’s warning? In a climate where media giants bow to political threats and station groups pull programming out of fear, no one is safe. Not even a late-night host.
Letterman also blasted CBS’s recent cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, calling it “pure cowardice.” He accused the Ellison family, now tied to Paramount Global via Skydance, of caving to political influence by wiping out the entire Colbert franchise.
As for whether he believes America still has a free media?
“Do we?” he asked.
A Warning Shot to Free Speech on Network TV
Letterman’s outrage isn’t just about one host losing his show — it’s about the dangerous precedent of government-aligned pressure influencing media decisions. When the FCC chair publicly threatens a network with “the easy way or the hard way,” it stops being regulatory oversight and starts looking like authoritarian enforcement. Coming from an agency responsible for upholding public trust, that language raises red flags for many.
Equally troubling, Letterman suggested, is how fast corporations seem to cave. ABC didn’t just sideline Kimmel after backlash — it did so without a robust defense of free speech or editorial independence. In a media ecosystem already weakened by financial instability and consolidation, decisions made out of fear risk silencing more than just one comedian. They potentially muzzle the kind of cultural commentary late-night TV was built on.
