The godfather of late night has spoken — and he didn’t hold back.
At The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York, David Letterman — the man who defined an era of late-night television — tore into ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel. His words cut through the polite chatter of the industry like a knife:
“This is misery. It’s managed media. 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.”
The crowd gasped. For a man known as much for his humor as his restraint, Letterman’s raw frustration revealed just how high the stakes have become.
A Legend Speaks Out
Letterman spent more than three decades building late night into an institution. On Thursday, he made it clear: what happened to Kimmel isn’t business as usual. It’s something darker.
“In the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship, sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched,” he warned.
And he wasn’t done.
“The institution of the president of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show,” he added. “Kimmel’s removal was predicted right after Stephen Colbert got walked off. So you’re telling me this isn’t premeditated at some level?”
The Pressure Behind the Suspension
ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! didn’t happen in a vacuum.
Hours before the announcement, FCC chairman Brendan Carr issued a chilling warning on a conservative podcast: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” He demanded action against Kimmel over his comments linking Charlie Kirk’s assassin to MAGA extremists.
Soon after, Nexstar Media and Sinclair — two of the biggest ABC affiliate owners in the country — declared they would not air Kimmel “for the foreseeable future.” Both groups are subject to FCC oversight and both are eyeing expansion deals that need the Commission’s approval.
Faced with losing a quarter of its distribution, Disney folded. Kimmel was silenced.
Letterman’s Fury
Letterman didn’t mince words about Carr’s mafia-style ultimatum.
“Who is hiring these goons — Mario Puzo?” he asked, referencing the author of The Godfather. Laughter erupted in the room, but his anger was unmistakable.
“When I was on TV,” he said, “not once were we squeezed by any government agency. Not once.”
For Letterman, the Kimmel saga wasn’t just about one show. It was about a dangerous precedent — a creeping shift toward state-managed media, enforced not by laws but by intimidation and corporate fear.
Kimmel in the Crosshairs
According to Letterman, Kimmel himself is bruised but holding up.
“He texted me this morning,” Letterman said. “He’s up in bed, taking nourishment. He’s going to be fine.”
The quip drew laughter, but the truth was harder to ignore: one of late night’s biggest voices is now off the air indefinitely, a silence engineered by political threats and corporate compliance.
Hollywood Pushback — and Celebration
Letterman isn’t alone. Barack Obama, Wanda Sykes, Ben Stiller, and Jean Smart have all condemned Kimmel’s suspension. Hollywood unions from WGA to SAG-AFTRA have issued statements warning that silencing a comedian is silencing free speech.
But conservatives, including President Donald Trump, have celebrated the move as a victory. For them, Kimmel’s jokes crossed a line — and the suspension proved that even the powerful can be muzzled.
The divide couldn’t be starker: one side sees censorship, the other sees justice.
A Pattern of Fear
Letterman also drew a line back to another fallen late-night giant: Stephen Colbert.
In July, CBS announced it was canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Officially, it was about declining ad revenue. Unofficially, insiders pointed to political pressure.
Letterman called it “pure cowardice.”
“They did not handle Stephen Colbert — the face of that network — in the way he deserves,” he said. “To be manipulated like that because the Ellison family didn’t want to trouble Donald Trump… they got rid of him. Not only him, the whole franchise.”
In Letterman’s view, Kimmel is simply the next domino in a dangerous chain.
A Media Industry in Retreat
Disney has weathered political pressure before. In 2001, after Bill Maher called America “cowardly” in the wake of 9/11, ABC let advertisers flee until Politically Incorrect collapsed.
Now, decades later, another host has been left to sink.
The bigger question is what this means for late night itself. Paramount has already abandoned the space, with Colbert gone and no replacement in sight. With Kimmel silenced, the golden age of political satire in late night may be ending — not because of ratings, but because of fear.
Letterman’s Final Word
Letterman’s conversation ended with a question that hung heavy over the audience: “We still have a free media? Do we?”
Silence followed.
For a man who once defined late-night laughter, Letterman sounded more like a prophet warning of storm clouds.
“This is misery,” he repeated.
And as Jimmy Kimmel remains off the air, those words now echo far beyond the festival stage — into Hollywood, Washington, and every living room where viewers wonder what late night will look like when jokes can cost you your platform.
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