Before Jimmy Kimmel Live was suspended then reinstated in September, the 57-year-old host taped an appearance on Ted Danson’s podcast where he blasted the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s rival show.
The 61-year-old Late Night host shockingly announced on July 17 that Paramount/CBS would not be renewing his contract after 11 years on the air, and they would end the late-night program next May after 44 years on the air.
At the time, the network claimed it was ‘purely a financial decision’ but the cancellation came days after Stephen called Paramount/CBS’ $16M lawsuit settlement with President Donald Trump ‘a big fat bribe.’
Paramount was also in the midst of a multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance, which requires the government approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
President Trump is frequently the butt of the beleaguered presenters’ jokes, and he publicly delighted in their respective suspension and cancellation on Truth Social.
When Jimmy first learned the news about Colbert, he memorably Instastoried: ‘Love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS.’
Before Jimmy Kimmel Live was suspended then reinstated in September, the 57-year-old host (L, pictured September 30) taped an appearance on Ted Danson’s podcast where he blasted the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s (R) rival show
The 61-year-old Late Night host shockingly announced on July 17 that Paramount/CBS would not be renewing his contract after 11 years on the air, and they would end the late-night program next May after 44 years on the air
‘I can tell you what I guess, I don’t think anybody will ever know…We don’t know for sure,’ Kimmel mused on Tuesday’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name.
‘What I do know for sure is that some of the information that has been released by the people who let him go can’t possibly be true. There’s no way he’s losing $40M a year. There’s no way it’s even close to that.’
The four-time Emmy winner continued: ‘I know how finances of late-night television shows work and it’s just ridiculous. It doesn’t make any sense at all. So when you hear things that are obviously lies, you have to assume that there are more lies behind it.’
Jimmy previously told Variety that the ‘alleged insiders’ who came up with the $40M number ‘seem to only be focused on advertising revenue and have completely forgotten about affiliate fees, which number in the hundreds of millions — probably in total billions — and you must allocate a certain percentage of those fees to late-night shows.’
Kimmel was so upset about the 10-time Emmy winner’s cancellation he made a for-your-consideration billboard announcing he would vote for him to win the Emmy for outstanding variety talk series, which he won on September 14.
The Brooklyn-born comedian didn’t leave empty handed either as he won the Emmy for outstanding host for a game show for ABC’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
At the time, the network claimed it was ‘purely a financial decision’ but the cancellation came days after Stephen called Paramount/CBS’ $16M lawsuit settlement with President Donald Trump ‘a big fat bribe’ (pictured in 2024)
Paramount was also in the midst of a multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance (R, CEO David Ellison pictured in 2013), which requires the government approval of the Federal Communications Commission
President Trump is frequently the butt of the beleaguered presenters’ jokes, and he publicly delighted in their respective suspension and cancellation on Truth Social (pictured Wednesday)
When Jimmy first learned the news about Colbert, he memorably Instastoried: ‘Love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS’
Kimmel mused on Tuesday’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name: ‘I can tell you what I guess, I don’t think anybody will ever know…We don’t know for sure’
He added: ‘What I do know for sure is that some of the information that has been released by the people who let him go can’t possibly be true. There’s no way he’s losing $40M a year. There’s no way it’s even close to that’
The four-time Emmy winner continued: ‘I know how finances of late-night television shows work and it’s just ridiculous. It doesn’t make any sense at all. So when you hear things that are obviously lies, you have to assume that there are more lies behind it’ (pictured September 30)
Jimmy was so upset about the 10-time Emmy winner’s cancellation he made a for-your-consideration billboard announcing he would vote for him to win the Emmy for outstanding variety talk series, which he won on September 14
The Brooklyn-born comedian didn’t leave empty handed either as he won the Emmy for outstanding host for a game show for ABC’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (pictured September 7)
Jimmy – whose contract is also up next May – triumphantly returned to his show on September 23 following a three-episode suspension by Disney/ABC over comments surrounding Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination
Three days later, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group announced that they would cease preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live from all 66 of their ABC-affiliated stations nationwide (pictured September 17)
Jimmy – whose contract is also up next May – triumphantly returned to his show on September 23 following a three-episode suspension by Disney/ABC over comments surrounding Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Three days later, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group announced that they would cease preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live from all 66 of their ABC-affiliated stations nationwide.
Curiously, Kimmel’s show is dark this week and ABC has been airing reruns instead.
Stephen is interviewing Emma Stone and Alex Wagner on Wednesday night’s show.
