John Oliver offered an impassioned defense of Jimmy Kimmel last night on Last Week Tonight. The host spoke out about the importance of free speech and not succumbing to “bullies,” at one point directing his monologue at Disney head Bob Iger.
Oliver kicked off his monologue by discussing the death of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. “A person getting shot is tragic and a person getting shot for their ideas is horrifying,” he said. “That is true no matter what those ideas are, and I also recognize that for many, especially those who are the targets of some of Kirk’s ideas, it has been hard to stay quiet as they see flags lowered to half staff, and claims that he debated things the right way. But setting all of that aside, it does seem like some are now willing to weaponize Kirk’s death to do things they’ve been wanting to do for years, whether it’s going after liberal groups, trans people, or their remaining critics in the media, and under some shamelessly flimsy pretext, all of which brings us back to Jimmy Kimmel.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live was taken off the air last week after Kimmel remarked on air, “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.” Station owners Nexstar and Sinclair responded by saying they would not be airing the late-night show. ABC owner Disney then suspended Kimmel indefinitely.
“While you may have seen headlines saying he got in trouble for remarks about Charlie Kirk himself, or even remarks about his death, that’s not strictly accurate,” Oliver explained. “The comments that got him in trouble weren’t about Kirk. In fact, Kimmel’s first comments after his murder were a post reading, ‘Can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents, and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.’”
He continued, “What got Kimmel in trouble was a passing reference on Monday night. Now at the time there were still rumors flying around regarding the killer’s motivations, including that he was on the far right, something that Kimmel alluded to like this.” He then played a clip from Monday’s Kimmel of the moment in question.
“Yeah, that was it,” Oliver said. “Weirdly, I was actually a guest on his show that night and I didn’t even register that comment and that’s only partly because I wasn’t really paying attention. And I’m not alone in that. After Kimmel’s suspension, many struggle to pick the offensive line out of his monologue, as YouTube is filled with comments under the video like, ‘I’m still waiting for the offensive part.’ And, ‘What did he say that got him fired? I’m rewatching the last week of episodes and haven’t heard it yet.”
He added, “The point is, Kimmel didn’t denigrate Charlie Kirk or make light of his killing. The worst thing you could say is that he appears to have been wrong about the shooter’s ideology, which, OK. But he was also pointing out that many on the right seem desperate to weaponize Kirk’s death, an argument that’s aged pretty well, given, you know, everything that’s happened to Kimmel since. Because that one line set off a firestorm in some corners of conservative media.”
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Oliver explained how Nextstar wants to keep Donald Trump happy because it is currently in the process of acquiring competitor Tegna and needs FCC head Brandon Carr to help. “Nexstar badly needs FCC approval, so it is hardly surprising that when Carr specifically said companies should pull Kimmel off the air or face consequences, it quickly complies,” Oliver said. “Basically, Brendon Carr said jump, and Nexstar took his dick out of their mouth for just long enough to say how high exactly.”
John Oliver calls out Disney and Bob Iger for their role in suspending Jimmy Kimmel.
“Giving the bully your lunch money doesn’t make him go away — he just comes back hungrier” pic.twitter.com/daeo8NHNYc
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 22, 2025
The hosted noted that it was obvious Carr forced Kimmel off air. “Look, the sequence of events here could not be clearer because it was all done in plain view,” Oliver said. “Carr leaned on broadcasters to take down Kimmel. They did that, sometimes even directly citing Carr while doing so, and then Carr celebrated with a fun gif. That sure seems like a pretty clear case of the government pressuring companies to censor speech.”
Oliver said the moment feels like a “turning point.” “Not because comedians are important, but because we are not,” he said. “If the government can force a network to pull a late night show off the air and do so in plain view, it can do a fuck of a lot worse.”
He continued, “It should be clear to everyone that the First Amendment is absolutely critical in this country. That is something even Brendan Carr knows, given that he once tweeted, ‘Free speech is the counterweight. It is the check on government control. That is why censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.’ And I’m guessing that Trump is currently enjoying that dream so much he could break his bed sheets in half.”
Oliver pushed for Disney, including Iger, to stand by Kimmel and offered ways fans could support his fellow host. He concluded his monologue by addressing Iger directly.
“Hi there, Bob, we haven’t met, but you probably know me as America’s third favorite Zazu,” Oliver said. “Congratulations on recasting that role, by the way, it was a fun thing to learn about after the fact. Anyway, one day, the history of the time we’re living through is going to be written, and when it is, I’m not sure it’s those in this administration who are even gonna come off the worst, Now don’t get me wrong, they’re going to come off terribly. But history’s also gonna remember the cowards who definitely knew better, but still let things happen, whether it was for money, convenience or just comfort. And I know, this is something of a tough sell, and it can be a bit of anathema to risk averse business leaders, but I will say this: If we’ve learned nothing else from this administration’s second term so far, and I don’t think we have, is that giving the bully your lunch money doesn’t make him go away, it just makes him come back hungrier each time. They are never going to stop.”
He wrapped up by asserting, “At some point, you’re going to have to draw a line, so I’d argue why not draw it right here. And when they come to you with stupid, ridiculous demands, picking fights that you know you could win in court, Instead of rolling over, why not stand up and use four key words that they don’t tend to teach you in business school. Not ‘OK, you’re the boss.’ Not ‘whatever you say goes.’ But instead, the only phrase that can genuinely make a weak bully go away, and that is, ‘Fuck you, make me.’”
From Rolling Stone US
