Pictured: Jimmy Kimmel

Image Credits: Heute.at

“We have another fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show!” Jon Stewart sarcastically says in his opening monologue, looking comically despondent on the latest episode of The Daily Show, following the announcement of Jimmy Kimmel Live! being suspended ‘indefinitely’ by ABC on the 17^th of September, with the crowd erupting into laughter, and Stewart jokingly turning to the audience to say, “Shut up! You’re gonna blow this for us!”

When Jon Stewart jokes about this, we laugh at the absurdity of the President of the US caring enough to have a late-night talk show cancelled, but it is these foundational acts of censorship which influence and facilitate the formation of authoritarianism, and eventually a dictatorship. 

ABC’s suspension of Kimmel came soon after Nexstar Media (the largest owner of television stations across the United States) stated they would no longer air Jimmy Kimmel Live! due to comments the host made during his opening monologue about the recent assassination of right-wing media personality Charlie Kirk. Furthermore, Sinclair Broadcast group, the largest of ABC’s affiliate groups also objected to comments made by Kimmel concerning Charlie Kirk, also calling upon Mr Kimmel ‘to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family’ as well as making ‘a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA’. 

Now, to warrant this response you would expect that Jimmy Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s murder were deeply offensive and insulting, comments that everyone should object to regardless of their personal political beliefs and feelings towards Charlie Kirk, yet, I am searching for the ‘offensive’ comments Kimmel allegedly made about Kirk and they are in fact non-existent. The only genuine insults and jokes were aimed at President Trump and the Republican Party, with Kimmel criticising the GOP’s attempts to ‘characterise Kirk as anything other than “one of them”’ and mocking Trump’s very nonchalant reaction to being asked about Kirk’s death, with President Trump almost entirely ignoring the reporters question and pivoting to talk about the construction of the new White House Ballroom, with Kimmel remarking that ‘he’s in the fourth stage of grief: construction’.  

Kimmel’s suspension follows the recent cancellation of fellow late night host Stephen Colbert’s show on CBS, with Paramount citing it as a ‘financial decision’ despite the announcement arriving just days after Colbert had called out the network for settling a legal dispute with Donald Trump. In order to settle, Paramount awarded the President $16 million, with Colbert calling it a “big fat bribe”. This was in reference to the fact that this lawsuit acted as a direct obstacle to Paramount’s $8bn merger with Skydance Media, needing government approval to fully succeed. Moreover, Sinclair’s call on Kimmel to donate to Turning Point USA demonstrates the blatant manipulation from mass media corporations in order to appease MAGA, arguably doing exactly what Kimmel accused the far right of doing in the first place, exploiting a tragedy to further their political agenda and, ultimately, their pursuit of capitalistic gain. 

Therefore, many have seen these actions as a ploy by Trump’s administration to intimidate the media, as well as being an attempt to directly infringe on the rights of, and censor critics of, himself and his administration. 

Despite MAGA’s intimidatory tactics, both Kimmel and Colbert received widespread support from prominent figures across the entertainment industry, with the WGA, DGA AND SAG-AFTRA unions all coming out in support of Kimmel following his suspension, with SAG-AFTRA’s statement expressing concern for the situation regarding free speech in the entertainment industry, stating ‘Suppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues runs counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on. Democracy thrives when diverse points of view are expressed’. 

This then sparked a nationwide campaign to boycott Disney, with many prominent members of the entertainment industry urging people to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions, as well as stars such as Olivia Rodrigo declining to perform at the premiere of Disney+ and Hulu’s Lilith Fair documentary in support of Kimmel. 

The next question for Hollywood here is how then do members of the entertainment industry navigate the evolving relationship between entertainment and politics? 

It is no secret that art is inherently political, with the film and television that is created and consumed being a direct reflection of the culture and political beliefs of the time. As demonstrated at the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards, star of Hacks and Emmy winner Hannah Einbinder generated immense conversation following her acceptance speech, in which she proudly proclaimed “Go Birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine. Thank you.” And later in a backstage interview with Deadline, the actress advocated for Film Workers for Palestine, an agreement signed by 1,200 individuals to boycott Israeli film institutions. 

And despite receiving backlash from conservatives due to her remarks, it is individuals like Einbinder, Colbert and Kimmel that are fundamental to keeping a healthy relationship between entertainment and politics. Their actions go against the authoritarianism that companies such as Sinclair and Nexstar are facilitating for Trump’s administration, it is the actions of individuals such as Einbinder and those participating in the boycott of ABC and Disney in support of Kimmel, that prevent the complete takeover and consequent censorship of views by conservative broadcasting bodies. 

Nevertheless, the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! directly panders to the regime that Trump has so desperately tried to cultivate throughout his first, and now second term as President. A regime that preaches patriotism, the protection of free speech and worships the first amendment, yet to its core is so deeply hypocritical. It truly makes you wonder how much of the American constitution Donald Trump has to violate for his supporters to use an ounce of critical thinking. And crucially, what it takes for them to have anything less than blinding faith in the MAGA movement, and rather, stand and defend the foundational laws of the country that they claim to love so deeply.