David Letterman reveals Jimmy Kimmel's reaction after show axed over Charlie Kirk row

David Letterman has spoken out strongly against ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy KimmelLive! indefinitely after the late-night host made controversial remarks about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

The 78-year-old veteran host appeared at the Atlantic Festival in New York, where he claimed the move was a blow to free expression. "It’s ridiculous," he said. "You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office, that’s just not how this works."

Letterman described the suspension as a “misery” and likened it to life in “a dictatorship.” The veteran host confirmed that he had heard directly from Kimmel after the announcement. "He’s sitting up in bed taking nourishment. He’s going to be fine," he quipped, but admitted he was unsure how to "think or what to say about this situation."

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The controversy erupted after Kimmel’s Monday night monologue in which he said: "The MAGA Gang [is] desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

He also mocked Donald Trump’s response to the tragedy, adding: "This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish."

ABC announced Wednesday night that the program would be pulled “indefinitely,” a move welcomed by Trump, who posted: "The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done."

The suspension sparked immediate backlash from Hollywood and political commentators. Ben Stiller declared, “This isn’t right,” while singer John Legend re-shared a post from writer David Frum condemning political interference in the media.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes called the action "the most straightforward attack on free speech from state actors I’ve ever seen in my life, and it’s not even close."

Others, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Alison Brie, Henry Winkler and Keith Olbermann, also defended Kimmel.

Letterman reflected on his own three decades in late-night, during which he targeted six presidents from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama.

"Beating up on these people, rightly or wrongly, accurately or perhaps inaccurately, in the name of comedy, not once were we squeezed by anyone from any governmental agency, let alone the dreaded FCC," he noted.

Letterman has previously accused networks of “cowardice,” most recently over the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

On Thursday, he suggested Kimmel’s suspension is part of a troubling shift: "It’s a world of someone who’s an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship."

Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead last week at Utah Valley University. The accused gunman, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, faces multiple charges including aggravated murder.

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