Jay Leno Is “on Jimmy Kimmel’s Side” Amid ABC Suspension: “It’s a Comedian Talking; If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Watch It”
Late night alum Jay Leno is sharing his reaction to the news that Jimmy Kimmel‘s his late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been suspended by ABC.
On Thursday, Leno attended Chris Wallace’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, where he spoke to reporters about the cancellation. “I’m on Jimmy Kimmel’s side on that one,” he said. “These kinds of things happen all the time. You don’t get canceled [for] saying popular things. Usually it’s the truth that winds up getting canceled, so we’ll see what happens.”
Leno also noted that he’s for free speech: “It’s a comedian talking; if you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for ABCannounced that the show would be “preempted indefinitely.” The move came after the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, condemned Kimmel’s comments about the shooting suspect during his Monday night monologue. Following the monologue, Carr said ABC affiliates should push back on Comcast.
Here were Kimmel’s comments: “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.”
Leno further told reporters on Thursday what he predicts will happen to Kimmel. “I think Jimmy will land on his feet. He’s a talented guy. He’s funny. And let’s see what happens,” he said. “Maybe he might be on in just a couple of weeks again. So, we’ll see.”
Numerous other celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Adam Scott, Jean Smart, late night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert and politicians Gavin Newsom and Barack Obama have spoken out in support of Kimmel following his suspension.
