Stephen Colbert speaks on "The Late Show" on Sept. 11, 2025.

Stephen Colbert is speaking out in support of Jimmy Kimmel.

On the Sept. 18 episode of "The Late Show," Colbert came to his fellow late-night host's defense after ABC's controversial decision to suspend "Jimmy Kimmel Live" following FCC pressure.

"Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel," Colbert said at the start of his monologue before decrying the suspension as "blatant censorship."

"With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch," he continued. "If ABC thinks this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive, and clearly, they've never read the children's book 'If You Give a Mouse a Kimmel.' And to Jimmy, just let me say, I stand with you and your staff 100%."

Addressing comments made by Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, about Kimmel, Colbert also declared, "You know what my community values are, buster? Freedom of speech!" Carr had previously wrote on X that "while this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values."

In sharing a clip of his monologue on social media, Colbert wrote, "'The Late Show' stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his staff."

Later in his monologue, Colbert argued that Kimmel being pulled from the air was "not entirely about" what he said on the air but was "part of a plan" on Trump's part, pointing to fact that when Trump was "tastefully celebrating my cancellation" in July, he wrote on Truth Social that Kimmel was "NEXT to go."

"It is so bizzare to see an American president weighing in so vehemently on TV shows," he added.

Later in the show, he adopted his former persona as host of "The Colbert Report," with a special segment of 'The Word'. "Daddy's home," he said in character. "I'm going to spank you with freedom until I can see the American flag reflected in your shiny, swollen (expletive)" to save rescue the country from this "free speech crisis."

What happened with Jimmy Kimmel?

On Sept. 17, ABC said that "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" would be suspended indefinitely following pressure from Carr. The FCC chairman had criticized Kimmel for saying on his show that "the MAGA gang" was "desperately trying to characterize" Tyler Robinson, the suspect charged with fatally shooting conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, as "anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

Robinson's mother has told police that her son "started to lean more to the left" over the past year or so, according to court documents.

While appearing on Benny Johnson's show on Sept. 17, Carr criticized Kimmel's comments and seemed to threaten ABC to take action. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said. Nexstar Media Group Inc. subsequently announced it would stop airing Kimmel's show on its ABC affiliates, and ABC soon after suspended Kimmel's show indefinitely.

Reactions to Jimmy Kimmel suspension: 'No such thing as free speech under Donald Trump'

The move sparked widespread outcry in the entertainment industry and beyond. Numerous Democratic politicians have also slammed the move, saying it amounted to government censorship. "There is no such thing as free speech under Donald Trump's reign," California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X.

Colbert received similar support from the entertainment industry in July after CBS announced it would cancel "The Late Show." The network said at the time that it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," which had nothing to do with the content of Colbert's show.

But Colbert, like Kimmel, is an outspoken critic of Trump.

Critics accused CBS of canceling "The Late Show" to appease the Trump administration because it needed approval for a then-pending merger between its parent company, Paramount, and Skydance.

Kimmel has also spoken out to support Colbert after "The Late Show" was canceled. In August, Kimmel told Variety he did not buy reports that Colbert's show was canceled because it was losing large amounts of money annually.

"I just want to say that the idea that Stephen Colbert's show was losing $40 million a year is beyond nonsensical," Kimmel said. "These alleged insiders who supposedly analyze the budgets of the shows — I don't know who they are, but I do know they don't know what they're talking about."

Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen Colbert defends Jimmy Kimmel, 'Tonight we are all Jimmy Kimmel'

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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