Former Late Show host-turned Netflix talk show host David Letterman launched an unhinged tirade on Thursday, calling Jimmy Kimmel’s Live broadcast being pulled off the air indefinitely evidence of companies attempting to “suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office.”
“I feel bad about this,” David Letter said speaking at The Atlantic Festival 2025. “We see where this is all going, correct? It’s managed media. And it’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous. And you can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.”
“This is misery,” Letterman said.
“In the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship, sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched,” said Letterman, failing to explain what President Donald Trump’s role in Kimmel suspension is.
“The institution of the president of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show,” Letterman continued, adding that Kimmel being shelved “was predicted by our president right after Stephen Colbert got walked off, so you’re telling me this isn’t premeditated at some level?”
On Wednesday, ABC, Disney, broadcast affiliates Nexstar, and Sinclair removed Jimmy Kimmel Live from their stations. The move, which came as a shocked to studio audience members who were set to walk into the show’s tapping, came just 48 hours after Kimmel mocked Trump’s mourning the assassination of Charlie Kirk and spread disinformation about his killer, calling him part of “the MAGA gang.”
“Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,” the company said in its statement.
Jerome Hudson is Breitbart News Entertainment Editor and author of the book 50 Things They Don’t Want You to Know About Trump. Order your copy today. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter and instagram@jeromeehudson
