When Late-Night Comedy Became a Line of Resistance

In late September 2025, American late-night television—long dismissed as cultural wallpaper—briefly became something closer to a frontline.

The catalyst was not a punchline but an absence. Within the span of two months, two of the most prominent figures in late-night comedy, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, saw their shows abruptly terminated or suspended by corporate parents operating under mounting political pressure from the Trump administration. What followed was an unusual moment of unity among entertainers who typically compete for ratings, relevance, and airtime. For a brief period, the industry closed ranks, and comedy became a form of institutional resistance.

CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in July 2025, citing financial pressures in a declining late-night market. The explanation was met with skepticism. Colbert’s program was still the highest-rated show in its time slot, and the announcement came just days after he criticized Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, for settling a lawsuit with Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes editing dispute. Colbert had described the settlement on air as a “bribe,” a remark that reverberated uncomfortably as Paramount sought regulatory approval for a major merger requiring federal consent.

Two months later, ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Kimmel made controversial remarks during a monologue referencing the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The network cited standards violations, but the timing raised alarms. Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, had publicly threatened ABC’s broadcast licenses hours earlier, framing the issue as a matter of public decency rather than political reprisal.

Taken separately, each incident could be explained away as corporate risk management. Together, they suggested a pattern: public criticism of the president followed by regulatory pressure, followed by corporate retreat.

What Trump did not anticipate was the response.

On September 18, the day after Kimmel’s suspension was announced, Colbert opened The Late Show with a declaration that immediately circulated far beyond the studio audience. “I’m your host, Stephen Colbert,” he said, pausing before adding, “but tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel.” The line was met with sustained applause. Colbert devoted his entire monologue to what he called “blatant censorship,” warning that “with an autocrat, you cannot give an inch.”

Other hosts followed. Jon Stewart returned for a rare midweek episode of The Daily Show, framing the moment as a test of democratic norms rather than celebrity grievance. Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, typically cautious in their political language, offered public support. David Letterman, long retired, condemned Kimmel’s suspension at a public appearance, calling it “fear masquerading as prudence.”

The solidarity coincided with a separate political rupture: the partial release of millions of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Though the Department of Justice framed the release as a transparency measure, critics noted that only about half of the collected files were made public, and that many documents appeared to redact alleged perpetrators more thoroughly than victims. Donald Trump’s name appeared repeatedly in the released material, reigniting scrutiny of his long-documented social and business associations with Epstein.

Late-night television seized on the contradiction. If the administration claimed transparency, why suppress comedians asking questions? If victims were being protected, why were their identities inconsistently redacted?

The backlash was swift. Advertisers wavered. Disney, ABC’s parent company, saw its stock dip amid subscription cancellations and protests outside its headquarters. After six days, ABC reinstated Kimmel. He returned with an 18-minute monologue that drew millions of viewers across platforms, directly accusing Trump of weaponizing government authority to punish dissent. “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke,” Kimmel said.

The episode did not reverse Colbert’s cancellation. The Late Show is still scheduled to end in 2026. But it altered the narrative. What began as isolated corporate decisions became, in public perception, a referendum on free expression under political pressure.

Late-night comedy has never overthrown a government. But in this moment, it exposed a familiar truth: authoritarian instincts often reveal themselves not in grand speeches, but in small acts of silencing. And sometimes, resistance begins not with outrage, but with a microphone left on.