{"id":173538,"date":"2025-09-22T08:14:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T08:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/173538\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T08:14:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T08:14:06","slug":"john-oliver-defends-jimmy-kimmel-in-wake-of-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/173538\/","title":{"rendered":"John Oliver Defends Jimmy Kimmel in Wake of Suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJohn Oliver used the main segment of his HBO<\/a> show Sunday night addressing the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.<\/p>\n

\n\tLast week, Disney suspended the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! following the ABC<\/a> late-night host\u2019s remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe dramatic move followed Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr\u00a0threatening to take action<\/a>\u00a0against ABC affiliates in the wake of a Kimmel comment that many took as suggesting the shooting suspect, Tyler Robinson, was a MAGA Republican during his Monday monologue.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,\u201d Kimmel said.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter station owners Nexstar and Sinclair said they would not be airing\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel<\/a>\u00a0Live!\u00a0in the wake of those comments, Disney made the decision to suspend Kimmel indefinitely. The company has faced\u00a0backlash<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Hollywood A-listers<\/a>, current and\u00a0veteran<\/a>\u00a0late-night hosts<\/a>, politicians and the public for its decision, with many accusing Disney of bowing to pressure from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Sunday\u2019s Last Week Tonight<\/a>, Oliver started off his main segment by noting Kirk\u2019s tragic death.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA person getting shot is tragic and a person getting shot for their ideas is horrifying,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is true no matter what those ideas are, and I also recognize that for many, especially those who are the targets of some of Kirk\u2019s ideas, it has been hard to stay quiet as they see flags lowered to half staff, and claims that he debated things the right way. But setting all of that aside, it does seem like some are now willing to weaponize Kirk\u2019s death to do things they\u2019ve been wanting to do for years, whether it\u2019s going after liberal groups, trans people, or their remaining critics in the media, and under some shamelessly flimsy pretext, all of which brings us back to Jimmy Kimmel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver noted he appeared on Kimmel\u2019s show the very night Kimmel made this comments. He defended Kimmel and said he was unclear about what was offensive about Kimmel\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhile you may have seen headlines saying he got in trouble for remarks about Charlie Kirk himself, or even remarks about his death, that\u2019s not strictly accurate,\u201d Oliver noted. \u201cThe comments that got him in trouble weren\u2019t about Kirk. In fact, Kimmel\u2019s first comments after his murder were a post reading, \u2018Can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents, and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence,\u2019 \u201d Oliver added, quoting a social media post by Kimmel.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat got Kimmel in trouble was a passing reference on Monday night. Now at the time there were still rumors flying around regarding the killer\u2019s motivations, including that he was on the far right, something that Kimmel alluded to like this,\u201d he said, showing a clip of Kimmel\u2019s aforementioned remark.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYeah, that was it,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cWeirdly, I was actually a guest on his show that night and I didn\u2019t even register that comment and that\u2019s only partly because I wasn\u2019t really paying attention,\u201d he quipped. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not alone in that. After Kimmel\u2019s suspension, many struggle to pick the offensive line out of his monologue, as YouTube is filled with comments under the video like, \u2018I\u2019m still waiting for the offensive part.\u2019 And, \u2018What did he say that got him fired? I\u2019m rewatching the last week of episodes and have\u2019et heard it yet.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver continued: \u201cThe point is, Kimmel didn\u2019t denigrate Charlie Kirk or make light of his killing. The worst thing you could say is that he appears to have been wrong about the shooter\u2019s ideology, which, OK. But he was also pointing out that many on the right seem desperate to weaponize Kirk\u2019s death, an argument that\u2019s aged pretty well, given, you know, everything that\u2019s happened to Kimmel since. Because that one line set off a firestorm in some corners of conservative media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver also noted that Nexstar has a motivation to keep the Trump administration happy, since it\u2019s currently in the process of acquiring competitor Tegna and needs regulatory changes for that deal to be completed.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNexstar badly needs FCC approval, so it is hardly surprising that when Carr specifically said companies should pull Kimmel off the air or face consequences, it quickly complies,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cBasically, Brendon Carr said jump, and Nexstar took his dick out of their mouth for just long enough to say how high exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver also called out Sinclair as another \u201cmajor owner of TV stations who were also apparently exploring merger options that would require FCC approval [that] announced that they too would not air Kimmel\u2019s show, and Sinclair even cited Carr\u2019s remarks in their statement, saying, \u2018We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr\u2019s remarks today,\u2019 and come on, Sinclair. As I believe Olandria once said to Huda on Love Island, \u2018Don\u2019t embarrass yourself going too hard for a man.\u2019 Just solid advice for the islands of love and for business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver went on to note that Carr wasn\u2019t \u201ctrying to dissuade people from connecting the dots here as when one media reporter asked him for a comment, he sent back a smiley emoji\u201d and sent a gif of The Office to CNN in response.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s from The Office, and that\u2019s, that was the actual response by the chairman of the FCC,\u201d Oliver said, adding: \u201cLook, I like The Office. Who doesn\u2019t like The Office? Sure, I could have done without seasons 8 and 9, but if it\u2019s on at a hotel, I\u2019m not kicking it out of bed. That said, I want you to run through your friend list in your head right now and pick out the person most likely to text you a gif from The Office. Do you have them in your mind? They\u2019re your least favorite friend, right? Just be honest. They\u2019re the one you invite to stuff just because you\u2019re afraid no one else will show up. They\u2019re a third-string friend, they\u2019re your backup\u2019s backup, and if you\u2019re thinking, \u2018There\u2019s nothing wrong with sending Office gifs,\u2019 I\u2019m afraid that person might be you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver again emphasized that what went down was very easy to see.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLook, the sequence of events here could not be clearer because it was all done in plain view,\u201d he said. \u201cCarr leaned on broadcasters to take down Kimmel. They did that, sometimes even directly citing Carr while doing so, and then Carr celebrated with a fun gif. That sure seems like a pretty clear case of the government pressuring companies to censor speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver went on to say that Kimmel\u2019s suspension feels like a \u201cturning point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNot because comedians are important, but because we are not,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the government can force a network to pull a late night show off the air and do so in plain view, it can do a fuck of a lot worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe quipped that he and his show are in a \u201cdifferent situation\u201d because he isn\u2019t on broadcast TV and HBO parent company\u00a0 Warner Bros. Discovery doesn\u2019t own broadcast networks, meaning that it\u2019s less susceptible to pressure from the FCC\u00a0 than Disney, which owns ABC. Oliver then showed a news clip of Paramount Skydance reportedly prepping a bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n

\n\tCut to Oliver shouting expletives. \u201cIt was fun while it lasted, guys. Whatever happens next, let me say now, it has been the honor of my life to age like a haunted painting before your very eyes,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver then noted the importance of free speech and the First Amending.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt should be clear to everyone that the First Amendment is absolutely critical in this country,\u201d he said. \u201d That is something even Brendan Carr knows, given that he once tweeted, \u2018Free speech is the counterweight. It is the check on government control. That is why censorship is the authoritarian\u2019s dream.\u2019 And I\u2019m guessing that Trump is currently enjoying that dream so much he could break his bed sheets in half.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOliver then urged Disney to stand by Kimmel and his staff and shared ways in which viewers could \u201cencourage\u201d them to do that, including by canceling their subscriptions to Disney+ or Hulu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHe then wrapped up his segment by addressing Disney CEO Bob Iger directly.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHi there, Bob, we haven\u2019t met, but you probably know me as America\u2019s third favorite Zazu,\u201d the character Oliver voiced in The Lion King. \u201cCongratulations on recasting that role, by the way, it was a fun thing to learn about after the fact,\u201d he joked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnyway, one day, the history of the time we\u2019re living through is going to be written, and when it is, I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s those in this administration who are even gonna come off the worst,\u201d he continued. \u201cNow don\u2019t get me wrong, they\u2019re going to come off terribly. But history\u2019s also gonna remember the cowards who definitely knew better, but still let things happen, whether it was for money, convenience or just comfort. And I know, this is something of a tough sell, and it can be a bit of anathema to risk averse business leaders, but I will say this: If we\u2019ve learned nothing else from this administration\u2019s second term so far, and I don\u2019t think we\u00a0have, is that giving the bully your lunch money doesn\u2019t make him go away, it just makes him come back hungrier each time. They are never going to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe continued: \u201cAt some point, you\u2019re going to have to draw a line, so I\u2019d argue why not draw it right here. And when they come to you with stupid, ridiculous demands, picking fights that you know you could win in court, Instead of rolling over, why not stand up and use four key words that they don\u2019t tend to teach you in business school. Not \u2018OK, you\u2019re the boss.\u2019 Not \u2018whatever you say goes.\u2019 But instead, the only phrase that can genuinely make a weak bully go away, and that is, \u2018Fuck you, make me.’\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Oliver used the main segment of his HBO show Sunday night addressing the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[1855,88,1035,17114,11575,103559,22339,22340],"class_list":{"0":"post-173538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-abc","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-hbo","11":"tag-jimmy-kimmel","12":"tag-jimmy-kimmel-live","13":"tag-john-oliiver","14":"tag-last-week-tonight","15":"tag-last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}