Host Seth Meyers during the monologue on Sept. 18, 2025,

Seth Meyers is voicing support for Jimmy Kimmel after Kimmel's late-night talk show was pulled off the air.

The "Late Night" host took time out of his monologue Sept. 18 to comment on Kimmel's abrupt ouster, characterizing the move by ABC to preempt his colleague's show "indefinitely" as a threat to freedom of speech, a right codified by the First Amendment in the U.S.

"This is a big moment in our democracy and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression," Meyers told the audience. Kimmel's show was pulled following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing, speculating on the politics of the shooter, now identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. His mother has since said her son's views lurched left in recent years.

When Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC under Trump, sounded the alarm on Kimmel's comments, several companies that own local ABC affiliate stations, which air the comedian's show, announced plans to pull it from their broadcast. ABC then stepped in to remove the show from the air, at least for now.

Meyers, whose signature "Closer Look" segment has become synonymous with sharp political analysis and critique of President Donald Trump, assured viewers that his tone would not change out of fear of retaliation.

"Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech and he's doing the opposite," Meyers says.

Despite sarcastically professing that he had always "admired and respected" President Trump, the NBC host doubled down on his right to lampoon the president in a free society.

"It is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way it is an honor to do this show every night," he said. "I wake up every day and count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech and we're going to keep doing our show the way we've always done it with enthusiasm and integrity."

Meyers' comments come as Trump has publicly celebrated Kimmel's suspension, as well as the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" on CBS earlier this year. A dogged watcher of network television, the president has long complained about the tendency of late-night hosts and "Saturday Night Live" to skewer his administration.

In the wake of Kimmel's removal, he suggested on Truth Social that Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, who both host shows on NBC, should be next.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump wants Seth Meyers fired. The 'Late Night' host isn't going down without a fight

Reporting by Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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