Stephen Colbert has been hailed for the ‘most powerful moment in late-night comedy’ as he addresses the Jimmy Kimmel and Charlie Kirk controversy.
Kimmel saw his late night show be placed on an indefinite suspension after comments he made during a broadcast about Kirk’s death.
During his monologue on Monday (September 15), Kimmel said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the Maga gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
The following night on his show, Kimmel remarked: “Many in Maga-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
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Fans of Kimmel have begun to boycott boycott Disney, who owns the network ABC which runs Jimmy Kimmel Live!, by canceling their subscriptions to its streaming service.
Now, Colbert has also spoken out during his own late night show where he said: “I’m your host Stephen Colbert but tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel.”
During his opening monologue, Colbert referred to the suspension as ‘blatant censorship’ and described President Donald Trump as an ‘autocrat’.
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He continued: “If ABC thinks that this is gonna satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive.”
Colbert went on to say: “To Jimmy, just let me say, I stand with you and your staff 100%.”
Now, Colbert is being praised online for his words, with one user writing on X, formerly Twitter: “Stephen Colbert's opening tonight will forever be remembered as one of the most powerful moments of late-night comedy in modern history. This is a must-watch. Damn.”
Another said: “MAGA just created a million Jimmy Kimmels.”
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A third person commented: “Colbert really been carrying late night fr, dude mixed truth n comedy perfectly.”
And a fourth added: “A significant moment in comedy history.”
Marvel actress Tatiana Maslany, who stars in the Disney+ miniseries She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, has shared her thoughts, backing the boycott.
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Taking to social media, Maslany shared a photo of herself on set with the caption reading: “Cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!”
President Donald Trump took to his own social media platform Truth Social to react to Kimmel’s suspension, writing: “Great News for America. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
Kirk’s funeral is set to take place this Sunday (September 21), at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, with Trump confirming that he will be in attendance.