Jimmy Kimmel Live was suspended by ABC, according to veteran host David Letterman. after the host was cut off from the show for remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as ‘ridiculous’ and a sign of authoritarianism.
David Letterman has spoken out strongly against ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely after the late-night host made controversial remarks about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The 78-year-old veteran host claimed the move had a negative impact on free expression when he made an appearance at the Atlantic Festival in New York. He responded, “It’s ridiculous.” That’s not how it works, because you can’t go around firing someone because you’re afraid of or trying to suck up on an authoritarian criminal regime in the Oval Office.
Letterman compared the suspension to life in “a dictatorship” and characterized it as a “misery.” After the announcement, the veteran host confirmed that Kimmel had spoken to him directly. He is eating food while he is lying in bed. He retorted, “He’s going to be fine,” but he acknowledged that he had no idea what to say or think about the situation.
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After Kimmel said in his Monday night monologue, “The MAGA Gang]is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything in their power to get political points out of it,” the controversy erupted.
He also mocked Donald Trump’s response to the tragedy, adding: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Trump welcomed the decision to pull the program “indefinitely,” which ABC made on Wednesday night when it announced that the program would be canceled. Congratulations to ABC for overcoming the necessary obstacles.
Hollywood and political commentators immediately reacted to the suspension. While singer John Legend re-shared a post from author David Frum criticizing political interference in the media, Ben Stiller said, “This isn’t right.”
The action, according to MSNBC host Chris Hayes, is “the most straightforward attack on free speech from state actors I’ve ever seen, and it’s not even close.”
Kimmel was defended by others, including Alison Brie, Henry Winkler, and Keith Olbermann.
Letterman reflected on his own three decades in late-night, during which he targeted six presidents from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama.
Not once, he noted, did anyone from any government agency, let alone the dreaded FCC, blame them for beating up on these people, rightly or wrongly, accurately or perhaps incorrectly, in the name of comedy.
Letterman has previously accused networks of being “cowardly,” most recently with the Stephen Colbert-canceled The Late Show.
On Thursday, he suggested Kimmel’s suspension is part of a troubling shift: “It’s a world of someone who’s an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship.”
Utah Valley University shot and killed Charlie Kirk, 31, last week. Tyler Robinson, 22, is the accused gunman and is facing aggravated murder charges.
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Source: Mirror
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