ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is getting dragged for once again featuring a drag queen reading a book by a conservative author to young children.
Kimmel invited back “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Trixie Mattel, whose legal name is Brian Firkus, to read from Eric Trump’s new memoir “Under Siege: My Family&#8217;s Fight to Save Our Nation” for the bit, which aired last week.
Kimmel mentioned the reviews for the newly published book during his opening monologue.
&#8220;There&#8217;s one star and five star; there&#8217;s nothing in between, which is sad because it shows how divided this country is, and that&#8217;s not good for anyone,&#8221; Kimmel said. &#8220;So in order to build a bridge and to join hands through literature, we asked a prominent member of the Left to read Eric Trump&#8217;s book to young people so they could decide on their own what they think about it.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Trump Can’t Stop Blaming and Bragging, Fox News Has a Grip on Him &amp; We See His &quot;Hellhole&quot; Cities" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zwu4fJ_eeq8?start=626&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He then cut to footage of Firkus, who walked into a room full of children in full drag and asked them, “Do I scare any of you?” to which they all said no.
&#8220;You just look amazing. Why would that be scary?&#8221; one little girl replied.
Firkus asked the kids if they wanted to help pick a book to read and joked, &#8220;Because this is, after all, a democracy. As of this morning, it&#8217;s still a democracy. I&#8217;m not sure &#8230;&#8221;
&#8220;Would you like to read a book by President Trump?&#8221; the drag performer asked, prompting the kids to boo and say no. &#8220;Hold up. What about President Trump&#8217;s least favorite son?&#8221; Firkus asked.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
During the exchange, the drag performer questioned a child about being potty trained before joking that Eric Trump wasn’t.
&#8220;Listen, we have to pay respect because this ghost writer worked really hard on this,&#8221; Firkus said before reading from the book. 
He only got through a few lines before one of the children said, &#8220;Okay, I&#8217;m going to stop you there. Instead of skipping this page, we should skip the entire book. No, instead, we should skip the entire storytime and just go straight to lunch because I&#8217;m pretty hungry right now.&#8221; The drag queen offered the child a Lunchable out of his trunk.
Firkus read more from the book, saying, &#8220;How is it that my father — who spent over four decades in the public eye — never once received a speeding ticket, triumphed in the 2016 campaign and became President of the United States and was suddenly charged with almost every crime imaginable, and many unimaginable in the aftermath?&#8221; 
One child claimed that it &#8220;doesn&#8217;t make any sense.&#8221; After asking the children for their opinions, one said, &#8220;I would kick him in the [censored].&#8221;
The drag queen told the kids he wanted to show them a &#8220;special science experiment&#8221; before taking them outside to stand in front of a wood chipper.
&#8220;This might not be a great book, but it&#8217;s going to make excellent confetti,&#8221; he said, throwing Eric&#8217;s memoir into the chipper as the kids cheered. &#8220;Alright, let&#8217;s go to happy hour,&#8221; he said at the end of the bit. “I have a drink ticket.”
There were many reactions to the unfunny bit on X.
“The goal of drag is to expose kids to alternate queer identities. Disgusting groomers,” Libs of TikTok <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1980098617714319551">replied</a>.
“Late-night TV has officially jumped the shark,” another reply <a href="https://x.com/wienerdogwifi/status/1980101370142138868">said</a>. “Jimmy Kimmel brought a grown man dressed in drag to read a children’s book on national television — turning what should’ve been family entertainment into a political stunt mocking Trump. Hollywood keeps insisting this is ‘progress,’ but let’s call it what it is: social engineering. The goal isn’t laughter anymore — it’s indoctrination.”
“Jimmy keeps hitting new lows,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/BrandoRepublic/status/1980229394703827220">said</a>.
Kimmel is fresh off a one-week <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-returns-addresses-charlie-kirk-comments-in-teary-non-apology">suspension</a> for comments he made about Charlie Kirk&#8217;s assassination. While his supporters in Hollywood cried censorship, Kimmel has spent his time back bashing President Trump as usual and watching his ratings <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmels-ratings-spike-crashes-back-down-to-his-usual-terrible-numbers">plummet</a>.
The drag queen stunt from Kimmel is nothing new. In 2023, he <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jimmy-kimmel-finds-perfect-way-120517841.html">did the same bit</a> with Trixie Mattel, only this time he was reading Ted Cruz’s book, “Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.”

Trixie Mattel

Kimmel’s Drag Skit Targets Eric Trump, Uses Kids As Props

Donald Trump

Drag Queen story hour

Drag Queens

Entertainment

Eric Trump

Jimmy Kimmel

Politics

Television

Late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert admitted that President Trump did a good thing by negotiating a peace deal in the Middle East that led to the release of Israeli hostages &#8212; but they couldn’t help but temper their praise with criticism and rants, as per usual.
“What a day for Donald Trump,” Kimmel said on Monday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“You know what? He finally did something positive today and I want to give him credit for it, because I know he’s not the type to take credit for himself,” Kimmel said during his monologue. “While we’re only in the first phase of what will undoubtedly be a long and tricky process, but the fact is the bombing has stopped, the hostages have been released, and Trump deserves some of the praise for that. So I know it sounds crazy to say, but good work on that one, President Trump.”
Kimmel couldn’t resist throwing in some snark, however. “Now maybe you can not invade Portland. Just an idea,” the late night host added.
“Trump’s been lobbying hard to try to win the Nobel Prize for peace,” he went on. “Now Trump’s focused on winning the prize next year, which is fine. Let him keep trying to make peace. I’m fine with coming up with prizes and trophies to motivate. Give them the ‘Nobel Re-Open the Government and Leave Healthcare Alone’ prize.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Grandest Asian Gaming Space on the East Coast!" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IOyDulT0qCo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Stephen Colbert also mentioned Trump’s peace deal during “The Late Show” on CBS.
“There is some good news out there today: Thanks to Trump’s newly-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, all living Israeli hostages and almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released,” the host said as the audience clapped and cheered. “It’s important. Credit where credit is due — Donald Trump did something good.”
Colbert paused then joked, “Are we still canceled? You sure? I tried,” referencing how the show will air its final episode in May 2026, as the network previously announced.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout</a>
“It’s kind of surprising to see him do something good,” Colbert marveled. “It reminds me of in &#8216;The Empire Strikes Back&#8217; when Darth Vader revealed this shocking secret.” The host then played a modified clip in which Darth Vader tells Luke he is an organ donor.
“Despite the deal on Friday, in a truly foreseeable turn of events, Trump did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize,” Colbert added. “How dare you, Nobel Committee? The man is a paragon of peace. He walks in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. … After losing his campaign for the thing you don’t campaign for, Trump said he didn’t do the peace deal for the Nobel. And the White House communications director, Steven Chung, agreed, saying, ‘President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian.’ We removed that heart from one of the detainees in our ICE facilities. He keeps it in the Oval Office next to the Diet Coke button in a little bowl.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="A Doozy Of A Week | No Nobel Prize | Trump’s War On America | Water Safety Authorities Fired" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DeAsGze2onQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Colbert also claimed that President Trump was causing turmoil in the United States while brokering peace deals overseas, trying to say that the president enforcing immigration laws was equivalent to “terrorizing communities.”
The late night host said he “agreed” with Trump’s statements about how he believed he most likely wasn’t going to heaven.
“While Trump tries to bring peace to the Middle East, he’s trying just as hard to bring war to the Midwest,” Colbert said. “And personally, I’m horrified to see how he’s stomping on my old stomping grounds of Chicago, Illinois, where I lived for over a decade. ICE has been terrorizing communities in the Windy City, going door-to-door in front of elementary schools, arresting immigrants, legal or otherwise, arresting U.S. citizens without any due process and tear-gassing journalists who are merely reporting on what they’re doing.”
Colbert’s show has been canceled, and Kimmel’s show was suspended last month after remarks he made about the man who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The suspension was panned by Kimmel and his supporters as an attack on free speech, and they blamed it on pressure from the Trump administration.

Colbert and Kimmel

Kimmel, Colbert Praise Trump For Peace Deal, Then Mock Him

Israel

Media

Peace Deal

Stephen Colbert

The Department of Homeland Security thanked NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Saturday Night Live&#8221; for its sketch poking fun at Secretary Kristi Noem and her effort to recruit federal agents to join the Trump administration&#8217;s mass deportation effort.
The sketch opened with Amy Poehler as Attorney General Pam Bondi testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
“My name is Pam Bondi. I spell it with an ‘i’ because I ain’t gonna answer any of your questions,” Poehler said. “My time is valuable. The DOJ has many ongoing operations, and we’re moving like Kash Patel’s eyeballs — very quickly in multiple directions at once.”
Poehler was later joined by Tina Fey, who played a dolled-up Noem donning an DHS cap and holding a rifle.
“That’s right. It’s me, Kristi Noem,” Fey said. “I spell my name with an ‘i’ because that’s how I thought it was spelled. And I’m the rarest type of person in Washington, D.C. &#8212; a brunette that Donald Trump listens to,&#8221; said Fey.
Fey also touched on Noem&#8217;s stance on the government shutdown.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout</a>
&#8220;Our government agents are working without pay. Luckily, my boys at ICE don&#8217;t mind, they&#8217;re in it for the love of the game. And how did I find them? By running ads like this,&#8221; said Fey in one clip shared by DHS.
DHS took the clip to then introduce an ad set to rap music showing ICE agents arresting illegal immigrants.
&#8220;SNL is absolutely right&#8211;the Democrats&#8217; shutdown does need to end!&#8221; DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thanks for the free advertisement <a href="https://twitter.com/nbcsnl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCSNL</a>
Get Criminals Out. Make History. Save America.<a href="https://t.co/nZkBEj3GGi">https://t.co/nZkBEj3GGi</a> <a href="https://t.co/0If5QGaX2N">pic.twitter.com/0If5QGaX2N</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1977516763093868918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
Bondi also joined in on the fun, suggesting that she and Noem &#8220;should &#8230; recreate&#8221; the image of Fey as the armed DHS secretary and Poehler as the nation&#8217;s top cop.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sec_Noem</a>⁩, should we recreate this picture in Chicago?
Loving Amy Poehler! <a href="https://t.co/3wNCnS0sGX">pic.twitter.com/3wNCnS0sGX</a>
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/1977378653462818933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2025</a></blockquote>

Untitled design (37)

Department Of Homeland Security Thanks ‘SNL’ For Sketch Poking Fun At Kristi Noem

Department of Homeland Security

Kristi Noem

Pam Bondi

Saturday Night Live

Tina Fey

Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton has passed away at the age of 79.
A cause of death was not immediately made known, and her family have asked the public for privacy, according to <a href="https://people.com/diane-keaton-dead-oscar-winning-actress-dies-at-79-exclusive-8603118">People</a>.
Keaton had a long career on film and television &#8212; though her earliest roles were on stage. In 1968, she was cast as an understudy in the Broadway musical “Hair,” and after that, was cast in Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam” in 1969.
It was the 1970s when Keaton began her rise to stardom with roles in “The Godfather” and “Annie Hall,” another collaboration with Woody Allen, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Of working on &#8220;The Godfather,&#8221; Keaton told <a href="https://people.com/movies/diane-keaton-never-read-the-godfather-before-auditioning-exclusive/">People</a>: &#8220;I think the kindest thing that someone&#8217;s ever done for me &#8230; is that I got cast to be in The Godfather and I didn&#8217;t even read it. I didn&#8217;t know a single thing. &#8230; I just was going around auditioning. I think that was amazing for me. And then I had to kind of read the book.&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout</a>
Keaton’s famous filmography included roles in “Crimes of the Heart,” “Father of the Bride,” “The First Wives Club,” and “Something’s Gotta Give,” among many others. She also worked in television, with roles in “Mannix,” and more recently “The Young Pope,” and “Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight,” for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Keaton also starred in Justin Bieber&#8217;s music video for &#8220;Ghost,&#8221; which was the only music video she ever participated in.
Though Keaton never married, she leaves behind her adopted children Dexter and Duke.

Diane Keaton

Academy Award-Winning Actress Diane Keaton Dead At 79

Celebrities

Death

Hollywood

Movies

U.S.

Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said he and other members of the company are glad Jimmy Kimmel was put back on the air because it ensures he no longer has “martyr” status.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t want Jimmy Kimmel to be a martyr. He doesn&#8217;t deserve it. He&#8217;s a liar, he&#8217;s an unrepentant liar, but he should not be considered a martyr by anybody,&#8221; Kolvet <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/turning-point-didnt-want-jimmy-kimmel-canceled-because-abcs-liar-doesnt-deserve-martyr">told</a> Fox News Digital in a newly published interview.
Kimmel’s late night show was suspended for less than a week after comments he made about the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk on September 10. This led to the Left having absolute meltdowns about free speech and suggesting that the Trump administration had orchestrated the show’s suspension.
Kolvet says the best way to deal with someone like Kimmel is to let them keep lying and keep getting terrible ratings, which will eventually lead to their shows getting canceled.
&#8220;It&#8217;s important that when people lie, and they lie in that type of setting and that platform about such a huge event, that there are real consequences. And I think the best consequence would be that people just tune out,&#8221; he told the outlet. &#8220;People refuse to watch a liar on TV and that when the ratings come up and the P&amp;L statement, ABC reviews it, that they just say, ‘Hey, this isn&#8217;t worth continuing.’&#8221;
&#8220;When that happens, I don&#8217;t think that he&#8217;s gonna be able to blame us for it. I think he&#8217;s just gonna have to blame himself and his own choices, and when that happens, I&#8217;m not gonna be sad about it,&#8221; Kolvet added.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout</a>
Kimmel’s return last Tuesday evening drew a record-breaking 6.3 million viewers, more than triple his regular audience. By Thursday, those numbers had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmels-ratings-spike-crashes-back-down-to-his-usual-terrible-numbers?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Jimmy+Kimmel%E2%80%99s+Ratings+Spike+Crashes+Back+Down+To+His+Usual+Terrible+Numbers">dropped by 64%</a>, leveling off at 2.3 million.
Kolvet said he’s been most upset to hear the narrative that political violence is &#8220;equally as extreme whether it&#8217;s on the Right or the Left.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that&#8217;s why I keyed in on the Jimmy Kimmel saga because he tried to lie to his audience and tell us that it was actually somebody from the Right that killed Charlie and that&#8217;s just simply not true,&#8221; Kolvet said.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no facts that back that up,&#8221; he told Fox News Digital. &#8220;And that strikes me as a really fundamental problem because … if you feel you can go into that platform and lie brazenly … that says that you don&#8217;t care about us as humans. That tells me that you think that we are worth smearing, slandering, lying about and dehumanizing people. And that&#8217;s how we get this violence in the first place.&#8221;
The saga began last month when Kimmel was accused of slandering conservatives when he suggested Kirk’s assassin was part of the “MAGA gang,” despite authorities saying otherwise. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time.
While the host addressed the controversy during his return monologue, many viewers, including Kolvet, found his comments to be insincere. The TPUSA spokesperson called Kimmel an “unrepentant liar.”

Turning Point Spokesman Says He’s Glad ‘Liar’ Kimmel Is Back On TV So He’s Not A ‘Martyr’

Charlie Kirk

Turning Point USA

Jimmy Kimmel couldn’t help but gloat about his post-suspension viewership spike, going so far as to publicly thank President Donald Trump for making it all possible. But after a very brief ratings boost, those numbers have come crashing back down to normal.
The ABC late-night host was temporarily taken off the air after comments he made about assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk. After a suspension that lasted less than a week, Kimmel returned to the air with a tearful non-apology, whining about how his words must have been misconstrued.
Kimmel’s return last Tuesday evening drew a record-breaking 6.3 million viewers, more than triple his regular audience. By Thursday, those numbers had dropped by 64%, leveling off at 2.3 million.
In the coveted demographic of viewers aged 25-54, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” dropped from 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday to 465,000 on Thursday, according to <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/29/media/jimmy-kimmel-sheds-64-of-audience-after-short-lived-ratings-spike-following-suspension/">The New York Post</a>.
The saga began earlier this month when Kimmel was accused of slandering conservatives when he suggested Kirk’s assassin was part of the “MAGA gang,” despite authorities saying otherwise. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout!</a>
While the host addressed the controversy during his return monologue, many viewers found his comments to be insincere, noting that he stopped short of apologizing for what he had said.
“Kimmel is an unrepentant liar who tried to blame Charlie’s assassination on the part of the country that just spent the last 2 weeks praying and holding vigils,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said in response, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unrepentant-liar-charlie-kirks-team-is-not-buying-jimmy-kimmels-crocodile-tears">reported</a>. “What he’s really saying is that he still thinks it’s fair game to slander conservatives. He would rather advance his own political and cultural agenda than confront the truth.”
Kolvet added, “It’s critical that liars admit they lied. There can be no restoration without that. Anything short of that is a fake and scripted cry line designed to endear him to his fans, not to make right the wrong he committed.”
The Left is exploiting Kimmel’s suspension to push the narrative that free speech is under siege and to fault the Trump administration for silencing critics. But others have noted how ABC made a business decision to suspend Kimmel, which they were well within their rights to do.

Jimmy Kimmel’s Ratings Spike Crashes Back Down To His Usual Terrible Numbers

Jimmy Kimmel Viewership Spike Crashes Back Down To Terrible Numbers As Usual

The National Security Advisor during President Donald Trump&#8217;s first term said he was asked to go on CBS&#8217;s “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert in 2024, but only if he would denounce Trump and tell the audience not to vote for him.
Retired United States Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster made the revelation during a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OAiiaiGMVI&amp;list=PLKruweaZqDNetb7uwJF1vS0mzmaTe8Kzg&amp;index=1">episode</a> of the GoodFellows podcast, a weekly Hoover Institution broadcast. Moderator Bill Whalen mentioned that late shows have “drifted to the Left,” which prompted McMaster&#8217;s response.
“When my book ‘At War With Ourselves’ came out, my publicist said, &#8216;Hey, you know, the Stephen Colbert show said you could come on, but if you come on you have to condemn President Trump and recommend that nobody vote for him,&#8217;” McMaster said.
The retired lieutenant general said it was an “easy choice” to decide against the appearance, but noted how it points to the political sway of late-night programs in general.
“I don’t know if it was just a producer or if it was Stephen Colbert directly, but you know, there has been this orthodoxy that has gripped late-night television. So many of these monologues, honestly…they’re just like diatribes. They’re not funny. Which might be why the ratings are going down.”
The controversy over late-night shows and free speech has reached a fever pitch, with leftists crying &#8220;censorship&#8221; and conservatives pointing out that this has been happening to right-wing entertainers for years. ABC&#8217;s late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, was briefly taken off the air for spreading false information about Charlie Kirk&#8217;s suspected assassin.
All the other major late-night hosts, including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jon Stewart, spoke out in support of Kimmel, but are being labeled as hypocrites by anyone who noticed that they had previously been in favor of conservatives being silenced for perceived slights. 
Clips of Kimmel joking about Roseanne Barr&#8217;s show getting canceled for controversial comments went viral just after he was suspended, with followers pointing out the blatant hypocrisy. Kimmel can also be seen celebrating President Trump being banned from X and Tucker Carlson getting fired from Fox News.
McMaster said the answer isn’t government “crackdowns,” but letting low ratings bury the shows.
Representatives from &#8216;The Late Show&#8217; did not respond to a request for comment.

Donald Trump/Stephen Colbert

Free Speech? Former White House Official Says Colbert Would Only Book Him If He Trashed Trump

Former White House Official Says Colbert Would Only Book Him If He Trashed Trump

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster

Apple TV is postponing a scheduled series that focused on domestic terrorism due to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, leaving the audience to speculate what was in the series that would have been so damaging to release.
“The Savant,” a scripted series starring Jessica Chastain, was initially slated to premiere on Friday.
 “After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone The Savant,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement, per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/apple-tv-plus-delays-the-savant-after-charlie-kirk-murder-1236378128/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. “We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Savant — Official Trailer | Apple TV+" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UYQiGBupM8I?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The show has been in the works for two years. It draws inspiration from the 2019 Cosmopolitan article, “<a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a28483247/is-it-possible-to-stop-a-mass-shooting-before-it-happens/">Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?</a>” The piece is about an investigator referred to as “The Savant,” who stops violent men from carrying out attacks before they occur.
The show deals with politically motivated attacks, though it appears likely that it was more focused on political violence from the Right side of the political spectrum. The article the show is based on makes numerous mentions of the &#8220;alt-right&#8221; and &#8220;white supremacists.&#8221; The man accused of murdering Kirk, Tyler Robinson, was reportedly living with a transgender-identifying male partner, with Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox saying that the suspect was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”
Chastain, who also serves as executive producer, says she disagrees with the decision to postpone the show. 
“I want to say how much I value my partnership with Apple. They’ve been incredible collaborators and I deeply respect their team,” Chastain wrote. “That said, I wanted to reach out and let you know that we’re not aligned on the decision to pause the release of The Savant.”
“In the last five years since we’ve been making the show, we’ve seen an unfortunate amount of violence in the United States,” she wrote, going on to list various events, including January 6 and the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump. 
“These incidents, though far from encompassing the full range of violence witnessed in the United States, illustrate a broader mindset that crosses the political spectrum and must be confronted. I’ve never shied away from difficult subjects, and while I wish this show wasn’t so relevant, unfortunately it is. The Savant is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honoring their courage feels more urgent than ever.”
“While I respect Apple’s decision to pause the release for now, I remain hopeful the show will reach audiences soon. Until then, I’m wishing safety and strength for everyone, and I’ll let you know if and when The Savant is released,” she concluded.

The_Savant_Photo_010301

Apple Postpones Drama On Political Mass Shootings Following Charlie Kirk Assassination

Apple

Political Violence

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel made his return to television Tuesday night after almost one week of suspension.
He started out his monologue by thanking the audience and other late night hosts and fans for reaching out during his suspension.
Kimmel also addressed the comments that got him suspended in the first place &#8212; though notably, he never actually apologized.
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” Kimmel said as he started becoming visibly emotional. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it … nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for what was the actions … of an obviously deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make. But I understand that to some that felt either ill timed or unclear or maybe both, and to those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset.”
“I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. I think this was a sick person who believed violence was a solution,” he added.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-true-bunch-of-losers-trump-rips-into-abc-for-ending-jimmy-kimmel-suspension">&#8216;A True Bunch Of Losers&#8217;: Trump Rips Into ABC For Ending Jimmy Kimmel Suspension</a>
Kimmel went on a rant about free speech, said it was “un-American” to take certain shows off the air, then equated his show being removed with Stephen Colbert’s “The Tonight Show” getting canceled, despite indications that the two situations were totally different.
The late night host went hard after President Trump, accusing him of not being able to “take a joke” and saying he wanted most late night shows to get canceled. Meanwhile, he played a clip of Trump saying he believed Kimmel had “no talent” as a way to prove that the president was trying to control free speech.
Later in the monologue, Kimmel also mentioned Kirk’s widow, Erika, forgiving her husband’s assassin during the memorial service over the weekend. Kimmel got emotional again when discussing her speech, calling her act of forgiveness “a selfless act of grace.” 
“That is an example we should follow,” Kimmel said.
The entertainment industry was in an uproar after Kimmel’s show was taken off the air last week over statements he made about the man who assassinated Charlie Kirk.
Even though “Jimmy Kimmel Live” came back Tuesday night, it was limited in distribution and still preempted in certain markets.
That’s because major media players Sinclair and Nexstar both announced they still would not be airing new episodes of Kimmel’s show. The two broadcast companies own or control nearly 80 ABC affiliates between them.
While Nexstar called Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s alleged killer “ill-timed and insensitive,” Disney backtracked on their original stance after enduring days of extreme backlash from fans and celebrities.
&#8220;We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,&#8221; Disney said earlier this week.
Kimmel was taken off the air due to comments he made about the accused assassin of Kirk.
“We 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,” Kimmel said at the time.
&nbsp;

JIMMY KIMMEL

Jimmy Kimmel Returns, Addresses Charlie Kirk Comments In Teary Non-Apology

Broadcasting

Sinclair Broadcasting Group doubled down on Monday, saying that despite an agreement reached earlier in the day by ABC and late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, their ABC affiliates would not air &#8220;Jimmy Kimmel Live&#8221; when it returns to ABC on Tuesday.
Sinclair owns nearly 40 ABC affiliates across the country — including one in the nation&#8217;s capital — and while those affiliates will preempt Kimmel&#8217;s show for the time being, the broadcasting group released a statement indicating that a deal could be reached in the future.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return. <a href="https://t.co/beGC6VID2x">pic.twitter.com/beGC6VID2x</a>
— Sinclair, Inc. (@WeAreSinclair) <a href="https://twitter.com/WeAreSinclair/status/1970266039532306593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,&#8221; the statement read.
Sinclair&#8217;s statement came just hours after ABC parent-company Disney announced that Kimmel&#8217;s show would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-caves-will-let-jimmy-kimmel-return-to-air-on-tuesday">return on Tuesday</a> after several days off the air.
&#8220;Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,&#8221; a spokesperson for Disney <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/disney-announces-jimmy-kimmel-live-returning-tuesday-after-suspension">told</a> Fox News Digital.
Kimmel landed in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmels-late-night-show-indefinitely-after-charlie-kirk-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">timeout</a> several days earlier after backlash over comments he made about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
&#8220;We 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,” <a href="https://x.com/newsbusters/status/1967982924986487284" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Kimmel at the time.
Shortly after his comments went viral, both Nexstar and Sinclair announced plans to preempt the comedian&#8217;s show. The two broadcast companies own or control nearly 80 ABC affiliates between them.

UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation’s 28th Annual Taste For A Cure

Sinclair Broadcast Group Doubles Down, Still Refuses To Air ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’

Sinclair Broadcast Group Doubles Down, Still Refuses To Air 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” will return to the air on Tuesday after being suspended last week, Disney announced on Monday.
&#8220;Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,&#8221; a Disney spokesperson <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/disney-announces-jimmy-kimmel-live-returning-tuesday-after-suspension">told</a> Fox News Digital in a statement.
Kimmel’s suspension caused a complete uproar in the Hollywood community and across social media as critics accused the network of “censorship” and squashing free speech.
The comments from Kimmel that prompted the suspension included the host falsely claiming that Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA supporter. Investigators say that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man arrested for Kirk’s killing, was deeply steeped in leftist ideology and disliked the conservative commentator for his beliefs.
“We 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,” Kimmel said during his show last week.
The late-night host’s suspension came amid pressure from broadcast companies that own ABC affiliates, including Nexstar and Sinclair, who pulled the show from their stations.
Last Wednesday, FCC chair Brendan Carr criticized Kimmel’s comments, leading many to assume that Kimmel’s show was pulled due to government pressure.
Multiple petitions and protests were ongoing. Kimmel made no public statements, but was seen visiting his attorney, per multiple reports. Other late night hosts came out with full fury in support of their colleague, with Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, and others saying the suspension was wrong.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner also came out publicly against the suspension.
Meanwhile, many people observed that Kimmel’s ratings have been less than stellar for a while, leading them to speculate that the suspension was about more than a single issue.

Disney Caves, Will Let Jimmy Kimmel Return To Air On Tuesday

comedian

Disney

After Jimmy Kimmel’s show was suspended on Wednesday over his false claim about Charlie Kirk’s assassin, early reports suggested the move was tied directly to the comments. Later details, however, revealed that a major factor was Kimmel’s planned follow-up statement for the next broadcast.
Kimmel had stated in his monologue, “We 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.”
According to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/how-jimmy-kimmel-benched-by-disney-dana-walden-1236374959/">The Hollywood Reporter</a> (THR) — which had reported on Wednesday that Kimmel had no intention of apologizing — an inside source said that Disney wanted Kimmel to “take down the temperature,” but Kimmel planned to “fan the flames with the MAGA fan base.” A source with Kimmel’s show contended that the late-night host wasn’t planning on “making it worse,” but that he simply “wasn’t kowtowing” to the furor surrounding his initial comments.
“Inside of ABC, ‘multiple conversations’ with Kimmel were had at the ‘executive level,’” an inside source told THR, which reported, “The execs wanted to know: How was Kimmel going to address the situation on Wednesday night’s show? The answer was not satisfactory to management, sources say.” THR added, “Talks between Kimmel and Disney/ABC hit enough of a stalemate that executives there decided Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! had run out of time to be salvaged.”
CNN Entertainment Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister on Thursday <a href="https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/cg/date/2025-09-18/segment/02">offered</a> some further inside information, stating:
<blockquote>
Jimmy wanted to go on his show last night. And in his monologue, I hear that he wanted to address the backlash from the right regarding his commentary about Charlie Kirk&#8217;s charged killer. And I hear that that monologue was very hot. It very much took aim at MAGA, and that is when the executive said, we can&#8217;t have him go on the air tonight. Now, I want to read you one quote from a source, Phil. They said, “If Jimmy went on the air, there would&#8217;ve been no way back from that monologue for Jimmy. We didn&#8217;t want that. Everyone deeply values him and wants him to come back, but he has to take down the temperature.”
</blockquote>

What Really Got Kimmel Suspended? ‘I Hear That That Monologue Was Very Hot’

MAGA

suspension

Menu

TV