President Donald Trump said on Friday he would likely sue the BBC next week for as much as $5 billion after the British broadcaster admitted it wrongly edited a video of a speech he gave but insisted there was no legal basis for his claim.
The British Broadcasting Corporation has been plunged into its biggest crisis in decades after two senior leaders resigned following accusations of bias, including over the editing of Trump&#8217;s speech on January 6, 2021, when his supporters entered the Capitol.
Trump&#8217;s lawyers had initially set a Friday deadline for the BBC to retract its documentary or face a lawsuit for &#8220;no less&#8221; than $1 billion. They also demanded an apology and compensation for what they called &#8220;overwhelming reputational and financial harm,&#8221; according to a letter seen by Reuters.
The BBC, which has admitted its editing of Trump&#8217;s remarks was an &#8220;error of judgement,&#8221; sent a personal apology to Trump on Thursday but said it would not rebroadcast the documentary and rejected the defamation claim.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll sue them for anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion, probably sometime next week,&#8221; Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed to Florida for the weekend.
&#8220;I think I have to do that, I mean, they&#8217;ve even admitted that they cheated,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They changed the words coming out of my mouth.&#8221;
Trump said he had not spoken with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with whom he has built a solid relationship, about the issue, but that he planned to call him this weekend. He said Starmer had tried to reach him, and was &#8220;very embarrassed&#8221; by the incident.
The documentary, which aired on the BBC&#8217;s flagship &#8220;Panorama&#8221; news program, spliced together three video excerpts from Trump&#8217;s speech, creating the impression he was inciting the January 6, 2021, riot. His lawyers said this was &#8220;false and defamatory.&#8221;
In an interview with British right-leaning TV channel GB News, Trump said the edit was &#8220;impossible to believe&#8221; and compared it to election interference.
&#8220;I made a beautiful statement, and they made it into a not beautiful statement,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Fake news was a great term, except it&#8217;s not strong enough. This is beyond fake, this is corrupt.&#8221;
Trump said the BBC&#8217;s apology was not enough.
&#8220;When you say it&#8217;s unintentional, I guess if it&#8217;s unintentional, you don&#8217;t apologize,&#8221; he said.
BBC Chair Samir Shah sent a personal apology on Thursday to the White House and told lawmakers the edit was &#8220;an error of judgement.&#8221; The following day, British culture minister Lisa Nandy said the apology was &#8220;right and necessary.&#8221;
The broadcaster said it had no plans to rebroadcast the documentary and was investigating fresh allegations about editing practices that included the speech on another program, &#8220;Newsnight.&#8221;
The dispute has escalated into the broadcaster&#8217;s most serious crisis in decades. Its director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness quit this week over the controversy amid allegations of bias and editing failures.
Starmer told parliament on Wednesday he supported a &#8220;strong and independent BBC&#8221; but said the broadcaster must &#8220;get its house in order.&#8221;
&#8220;Some would rather the BBC didn&#8217;t exist. Some of them are sitting up there,&#8221; he said, pointing to opposition Conservative lawmakers.
&#8220;I’m not one of them. In an age of disinformation, the argument for an impartial British news service is stronger than ever.&#8221;
The BBC, founded in 1922 and funded mainly by a compulsory license fee, faces scrutiny over whether public money could be used to settle Trump&#8217;s claim.
Former media minister John Whittingdale said there would be &#8220;real anger&#8221; if license payers&#8217; money covered damages.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Andrea Shalal in Washington, Costas Pitas in Los Angeles and Sam Tabahriti in London; editing by Leslie Adler, Tom Hogue and Shri Navaratnam)

Donald Trump

Trump Says He’ll Likely Sue BBC For Up To $5 Billion Over Edited Speech

Courts

Media

Media Bias

World

Late-night host Stephen Colbert just admitted that shows like his are meant to instruct viewers on how to think.
The host of “The Late Show” was attempting to defend the existence of the late-night genre during a recent <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/stephen-colbert-gq-cover-story-interview-men-of-the-year-2025">interview</a> with GQ.
While speaking on the topic, Colbert said, “Well, we are like your friend who at the end of the day paid attention to what happened today more than you did. And then we curate that back to you at the end of the day.”
“But it’s really more about how we feel about—or I, as the person who is the vehicle for that—how we felt about today. All those things that might’ve made you confused, angry, or anxious or happy or surprised or something like that,” Colbert added. “I share those feelings with the audience and they laugh or they don’t laugh. And there’s a sense of community there.”
The host claimed that “these late-night shows are for millions of Americans a third space to come together and think about the day.”
Social media commenters couldn’t help but notice that Colbert was basically admitting to influencing his audience into certain reactions.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 NEW: Stephen Colbert Says the Role of Late Night TV is to Tell You How to Think About the News
“We&#8217;re like your friend who … paid attention to the news more than you did … and then we curate that back to you at the end of the day. But it&#8217;s really more about how we feel… <a href="https://t.co/w2PNiOL7Gz">pic.twitter.com/w2PNiOL7Gz</a>
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1986765425246441743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Amazing admission. Basically late night TV is [propaganda.] They&#8217;ll tell you what to think,” one X user <a href="https://x.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1986765425246441743">marveled</a>.
“He said the quiet part out loud,” another person <a href="https://x.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1986767863701524575">wrote</a>.
“Hence his decline into irrelevance. Anyone taking guidance from this narcissist needs to seek immediate help,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/HawkeyePilot/status/1986774581751730592">chimed in</a>.
CBS announced in July that it was canceling “The Late Show” after the upcoming season, which inspired outsized reactions from the Left. The network described the move as a “purely financial decision.” A report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually.
Colbert went off on an expletive-laced tirade during his first monologue following the announcement, blasting President Donald Trump and CBS. Colbert mentioned how the network’s parent company, Paramount Global, paid Trump a $16 million settlement after being accused of election interference.
Other late-night mainstays such as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon came to Colbert’s defense, saying the reports claiming that “The Late Show” was losing tens of millions were “nonsensical.”

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert Says Quiet Part Out Loud, Admits Late-Night TV Tells You How To Think

Entertainment

Propaganda

Television

U.S.

The activist group GLAAD is sounding the alarm that LGBT character representation on television will drop by more than 40% next season.
The organization’s “Where We Are On TV” <a href="https://glaad.org/whereweareontv24/">report</a> showed that, despite the number of LGBT characters increasing last season to 489, 41% of those characters will not return due to series cancellations or endings, limited series appearances, or being killed off. 
“There is a definite concern that it’s not going to bounce back next year and see a growth just in terms of what’s been announced up to this moment,” GLAAD rep Megan Townsend <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/glaad-where-we-are-on-tv-2024-2025-report-findings/">told</a> TheWrap. “We have not had a ton of announcements or news about new series and returning series within the research period that would make up for some of these losses.”
Townsend also <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/glaad-study-gay-characters-on-television-where-we-are-on-tv-1236415828/">insisted</a> that “inclusive stories resonate with audiences and drive business success” and that “over 84 million American adults say they’re more likely to watch a TV show if it features at least one LGBTQ character.”
Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO and President of GLAAD, was also unhappy with the findings.
“Nearly a third of non-LGBTQ+ Americans say that LGBTQ+-inclusive media has changed their perception of our community,” she said. 
“Today, we are at a critical juncture, with hateful rhetoric running unchecked from politicians and news media and given a falsely amplified platform, even as the majority of this country overwhelmingly supports the LGBTQ+ community. With so many diverse, entertaining and impactful series being canceled at an alarming rate, it is imperative that networks and streamers do not back down.”
While the activists panicked, many social media commenters agreed that the LGBT characters being written off was merely a reflection of what viewers wanted.
“Call me crazy but that&#8217;s the free market. If demand isn&#8217;t there, characters and shows will be canceled,” one X user <a href="https://x.com/adamtoo__/status/1986620655903625336">said</a>. 
“If you don’t make money, you get canned,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/knockhead/status/1986785036079661329">agreed</a>. “Not rocket science.”

Bella Ramsey

GLAAD Freaks Out As TV Gets Significantly Less Woke Next Season

GLAAD Panics That Almost Half Of LGBT Characters Won't Be On TV Next Season

GLAAD

Hollywood

LGBT

The stars are aligning against artificial intelligence.
It’s hard to blame them. One look at Tilly Norwood, the A.I. actress, as pretty as she is, forever young, and it’s clear why actors would be threatened by her digital existence.
That explains why so many are raging against A.I. in interview after interview. Except there’s a flaw in their arguments, one few stars are willing to admit. Nor will major studios, for that matter.
Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson excoriated the rise of A.I. during an appearance on the soon-to-be-extinct “Late Show” on CBS. 
She shared her “<a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/emma-thompson-ai-annoying-irritation-1236563757/">intense irritation</a>” with the technological movement.
<blockquote>“… when I’ve written something, I will put it into a Word document. And recently, the Word document is constantly saying, ‘Would you like me to rewrite that for you?’ And so I end up just saying, ’I don’t need you to rewrite what I’ve just written, will you f*** off?! Just f*** off!”</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_994579" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-994579" class="size-large wp-image-994579" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-1024x517.jpg" alt="Screenshot: Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube.com" width="1024" height="517" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-1024x517.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-300x151.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-768x388.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET.jpg 1157w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot: Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube.com</div>
“Parks &amp; Recreation” alum Nick Offerman sang from a <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/the-view-nick-offerman-slams-ai/">similar hymnal</a> during a recent “View” appearance.
<blockquote>“In this day and age where companies are taking over the curation of our lives, like, they want AI to think for us…I love my clumsy, stupid farmer voice, I would never want a robot to write my song for me, because my song is stupid in a wonderful, delicious way that’s all about my voice! I don’t want to give over my agency.”</blockquote>
One of Offerman’s compositions <a href="https://www.billboard.com/culture/politics/nick-offerman-slams-donald-trump-pro-kamala-song-parody-1235762250/">mocked President Donald Trump</a> during the 2024 campaign.
<blockquote>“I’m proud to be a Kamala man, who’s quit the GOP/ I just can’t stick with the man convicted of 34 felonies.”</blockquote>
It’s hard to imagine A.I. could belt out a tune quite that insightful.
Some artists are doing more than talking about artificial intelligence. Author George R.R. Martin is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/george-rr-martin-openai-court-legal-1236413461/">suing OpenAI</a> for copyright infringement. And he may have plenty of company, especially since said suit, albeit slowly, is moving forward.
The collective fear is palpable, and not without reason. If a savvy 21-year-old can use A.I. to create a visually stunning film at the same price point as a studio’s catering budget, Hollywood could be on borrowed time.
There’s another reason for the industry to give A.I. a long, hard look. The computer revolution excels at absorbing content and spitting out new material based on that data. How different is it from Hollywood in 2025?
Yes, too many film and TV scripts feel like A.I. helped write them from start to finish. Hackneyed plots. Predictable story arcs. Canned dialogue lacking in wit and imagination. Here’s betting A.I. could create an annoying GirlBoss character as well as any woke scribe.
Or almost as well.
That’s part of the problem. What about the content itself? Hollywood recycling has reached a fever pitch, and it shows no signs of stopping.
Recent examples include a deal to turn the ‘80s cop show “Miami Vice” into a feature film, one potentially starring Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler. The original saga captured the Reagan era to a “T,” from its pastel-flavored suits to its synth-heavy soundtrack.
Except we’ve already seen a “Miami Vice” movie directed by a key player behind the original series, auteur Michael Mann. That 2006 film featuring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell made only a modest dent at the box office. Now, it’s time to try again? Why not feed the show’s original episodes into Grok and see what it churns out?
<div id="attachment_994551" style="width: 943px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-994551" class="size-large wp-image-994551" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-933x576.jpg" alt="ELIZABETH, NJ - OCTOBER 21: Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone is seen filming on the set of &quot;I Play Rocky&quot; on October 21, 2025 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)" width="933" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-933x576.jpg 933w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-300x185.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-768x474.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px" />Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images</div>
Another upcoming project essentially reboots Sylvester Stallone’s early years. “I Play Rocky” recalls the actor’s battle to play the main character in his original, in-demand screenplay. Studio executives had little appetite for Stallone, then an unknown actor. They craved an established star to play the blue-collar boxer who dreams of greatness.
The film cast young actors who resemble both Stallone and “Rocky” favorite Carl Weathers, respectively, although A.I. could have de-aged both for a fraction of the price.
The problem isn’t relegated to the big screen. A new “Karate Kid” musical retells that now tired tale, one that inspired three sequels, a Jackie Chan-led reboot, a spinoff TV series (“Cobra Kai”), and last summer’s tepid “Karate Kid: Legends.”
Here’s betting A.I. could write a few wisecracks about Hollywood’s recycling obsession. Actually, here’s one from Grok:
<blockquote>Hollywood is so obsessed with sequels, prequels, and remakes that the next big blockbuster will be Spider-Man: The Origin of the Origin Story.</blockquote>
Hardly a howler, but it’s not as awful as your average Stephen Colbert monologue.
Now, imagine if today’s Hollywood threw off the shackles of its IP obsession and reclaimed the spirit of, say, ‘70s-era filmmaking. That decade delivered rich, complicated stories that brought out the best in Hollywood at all levels. Think “Three Days of the Condor,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Network,” “Taxi Driver,” and “Chinatown.” Those are just a few of the iconic films that defined the ‘70s.
<div id="attachment_994583" style="width: 741px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-994583" class="size-large wp-image-994583" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-731x576.jpg" alt="Penny Allen (3rd from left) and others are held up by Al Pacino in a scene from the film 'Dog Day Afternoon', 1975. (Photo by Warner Brothers/Getty Images)" width="731" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-731x576.jpg 731w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-300x236.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-768x605.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px" />Photo by Warner Bros./Getty Images</div>
No A.I. bot could replicate those stories. Tilly Norwood would look foolish among the likes of Diane Keaton, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro.
Maybe Hollywood should view A.I. not as an existential threat but the ultimate challenge.
Hollywood delivered some of the best stories of the modern era thanks to the intense competition fostered by the rise of cable and streaming outlets in the 21st century. “The Sopranos.” “Breaking Bad.” “Game of Thrones.” “Mad Men.”
The industry should view the threat of A.I. as a chance to show those dumb robots what great storytelling is all about.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Stars Rage Against AI, But Hollywood’s Been Acting Like A Machine For Years

actors

Artificial Intelligence

Film

Movies

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has bought into the conspiracy theory that the 1969 moon landing was fake.
The 45-year-old mom of four laid out her reasons during the most recent episode of her show, “The Kardashians,” which aired on Thursday.
&#8220;I&#8217;m sending you, so far, a million articles with both Buzz Aldrin and &#8230; the other one,” Kardashian told actress Sarah Paulson while on the set of the show “All’s Fair.”
&#8220;This girl says, &#8216;What was the scariest moment?&#8217; And [Aldrin] goes, &#8216;There was no scary moment, cause it didn’t happen. It could&#8217;ve been scary, but it wasn&#8217;t, cause it didn&#8217;t happen.'&#8221;
Kardashian also shared her theory that Aldrin is accidentally revealing secrets because he’s &#8220;gotten old.&#8221;
&#8220;So I think it didn’t happen,” the reality star asserted.
Back in her trailer, a producer can be heard asking her more about the conversation, to which Kardashian repeated her previous statements.
“I don’t think we did,” she said of the moon landing. “I think it was fake.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve seen a few videos [of] Buzz Aldrin talking about how it didn’t happen. He says it all the time now, in interviews,&#8221; Kardashian continued.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
&#8220;Why does Buzz Aldrin say it didn&#8217;t happen? There&#8217;s no gravity on the moon … why is the flag blowing? The shoes that they have in the museum that they wore on the moon [have] a different [foot]print than the photos. Why are there no stars?&#8221;
The producer predicts that Kardashian&#8217;s audience will call her crazy, to which the star replies, “They’re gonna say I’m crazy no matter what. But like, go to TikTok. See for yourself.”
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first two people to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, during the Apollo 11 mission. Third crew member Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit during the same mission.
One of the Aldrin quotes Kardashian was referencing came from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4UP6nRMuGs&amp;t=430s">out-of-context comments</a> Aldrin made during a 2015 interview with a young child that have been repeatedly used by conspiracy theorists.
As for the “scary moment” comment, it came from an event when Aldrin said the scary moment never happened, not the moon landing itself.
The 95-year-old astronaut recently celebrated the 56th anniversary of the moon landing with a post on X.
“July 20, 1969. ‘Contact light, engine stop.’ The Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle touched down at Tranquility Base on the Moon,” he <a href="https://x.com/TheRealBuzz/status/1946988549187702957">posted</a> in July. “A few hours later, Neil Armstrong and I stepped foot on the Moon, with Michael Collins orbiting close-by.”
“An achievement resulting from years of incalculable effort, commitment, and team work,” he went on.
“We all did our part to see President Kennedy’s words become reality: ‘We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others too.’”
“I couldn’t be prouder to have completed this mission with the hundreds of thousands of people that helped get us to the moon and back home. God bless the USA and all of humankind,” the post concluded.

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian Insists Moon Landing Was Fake: ‘Like, Go To TikTok, See For Yourself’

Aerospace

Celebrities

Conspiracy Theory

Taylor Sheridan, the Academy Award–nominated creator behind &#8220;Yellowstone,&#8221; will depart Paramount for NBCUniversal when his contract ends in 2028, according to a recent announcement.
This is a big deal because Sheridan is responsible for several other Paramount hits, including “1923,” “Tulsa King,” “Special Ops: Lioness,” and more popular projects. Sheridan didn’t give a statement explaining why he’s leaving, but anonymous sources say it was partly due to creative differences with Paramount&#8217;s new leadership.
This includes the director’s reluctance to work on a special project celebrating America’s 250th anniversary next year, which was reportedly requested by the company’s new CEO, David Ellison, whom President Donald Trump has called a good friend. Per The Wall Street Journal, Sheridan didn’t want to make anything “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/why-yellowstone-mastermind-taylor-sheridan-decided-to-ditch-paramount-2192d401">overtly political</a>.” 
It’s worth noting that while “Yellowstone” was very popular with a conservative audience, especially in the early seasons, the show’s creator explicitly stated that he didn’t want it to be.
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="http://dailywire.com/Subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
“They refer to it as ‘the conservative show’ or ‘the Republican show’ or ‘the red-state Game of Thrones,’ ” Sheridan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellowstone-creator-taylor-sheridan-laughs-at-the-idea-of-series-being-a-red-state-show">told</a> The Atlantic in 2022.
“And I just sit back laughing. I’m like, ‘Really?’ The show’s talking about the displacement of Native Americans and the way Native American women were treated and about corporate greed and the gentrification of the West, and land-grabbing. That’s a red-state show?”
He said the same in 2019, calling the idea of “Yellowstone” advancing conservative ideas “the most ridiculous thing.”
Budgets are clearly a major concern months after the close of the $8.4 billion merger of Paramount and Skydance. Per a <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/10/paramount-layoffs-begin-ceo-david-ellison-1236600654/">memo</a> from Ellison, 1,000 employees are being laid off this week, and 1,000 more will be let go soon. The CEO told staff, “These steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”
Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, backed his son David Ellison’s company, Skydance Media, in its takeover of Paramount Global. While David serves as CEO, Larry remains the primary financial force behind the deal, operating largely behind the scenes. Ellison, who has a close relationship with President Trump, is also working with him on a deal involving TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Taylor Sheridan

‘Yellowstone’ Creator Who Quit Paramount Snubbed U.S. Celebration Pitch, Citing Politics: Report

'Yellowstone' Creator Who Quit Paramount Was Opposed To Making America Celebration Special: Report

Paramount

Politics

Televison

Yellowstone

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

Drag Queen story hour

Drag Queens

Eric Trump

Jimmy Kimmel

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

Peace Deal

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

Death

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

Menu

TV