The late-night landscape, already battered by cancellations and Trump-fueled firestorms, cracked open wider this week when ABC abruptly yanked Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air once more – this time citing an “indefinite review” over a blistering monologue that dared to call out the President-elect’s latest Truth Social tirade on “fake news” media. But amid the chaos of boycott threats from conservative affiliates and FCC chair Brendan Carr’s not-so-veiled threats of license revocations, one voice is conspicuously absent: Stephen Colbert. The Late Show host, whose own CBS gig is slated to wrap after the 2025-26 season amid $40 million annual losses, has gone radio silent on his fellow comedian’s plight. No tweets, no Instagram stories, no sly on-air jabs – just crickets from the man who once roasted Trump for targeting Kimmel like a personal vendetta. Insiders whisper of a deepening rift in the anti-Trump comedy bunker, while fans speculate: Is Colbert biding his time, burned out, or – gasp – cutting a deal to save his own skin?
The suspension dropped like a guillotine on November 28, just as Thanksgiving leftovers were hitting the trash. Kimmel’s November 27 episode had clocked record ratings – 4.8 million viewers tuning in for his takedown of Trump’s fresh demands to “fire all the losers” on ABC, NBC, and CBS after a poll showed late-night hosts as the “most hated” by MAGA die-hards. “Donald, you’ve got the nuclear codes and a spray tan that won’t quit,” Kimmel quipped, holding up a photoshopped image of Trump as a cartoon pig in a crown. “But threatening our jobs? That’s not leadership – that’s a toddler with a Sharpie and a grudge.” The punchline landed like a grenade: Kimmel accused the administration of “jawboning” networks into silence, name-dropping Carr’s recent Benny Johnson Show appearance where the FCC boss danced around First Amendment violations while hinting at “regulatory audits” for “hate speech disguised as humor.”
By dawn on the 28th, the backlash was biblical. Sinclair and Nexstar – the behemoths controlling over 200 ABC affiliates – issued a joint statement: “We cannot in good conscience air content that incites division during a time of national healing.” Trump piled on via Truth Social at 5:47 a.m.: “Crooked Jimmy strikes again! Suspended? GOOD! Fire him like I fired Rosie! Colbert’s next – his show’s a DISASTER anyway. Ratings in the toilet, just like Sleepy Joe!” The post, viewed 12 million times by noon, included a GIF of Kimmel’s head on a chopping block. ABC, still smarting from September’s six-day shutdown over Kimmel’s Charlie Kirk comments, caved fast. “Out of respect for our affiliates and ongoing internal review,” a Disney spokesperson droned in a 10 a.m. presser, “production is paused indefinitely.” Kimmel’s team fired back: “This is censorship with a side of corporate cowardice. We’ll see you in court – or on a podcast.”
Hollywood’s outrage machine revved up immediately. Jennifer Aniston, fresh off her Elle “Women in Hollywood” cover, blasted the move as “horrible and unthinkable – a direct assault on free speech.” Ben Stiller tweeted a clip from his 2008 Kimmel cameo, captioning it: “This isn’t comedy; it’s a coup.” Jean Smart, star of HBO’s Hacks, posted on Instagram: “Jimmy said what we’re all thinking. Suspending him? That’s the real joke – and it’s on us.” Even Kevin McHale from Glee jumped in, reposting a Project 2025 explainer with: “Told you so.” Protests brewed outside ABC’s Burbank lot by evening – purple-clad fans (a nod to Kimmel’s Dodgers loyalty) waving signs reading “Hands Off Our Host!” and “Trump’s Tantrum = Our Blackout.” Ratings for the emergency rerun of Kimmel’s September return episode spiked 35%, proving the Streisand effect is alive and well.
But where was Stephen Colbert? The man who’d built a career on Trump takedowns – from his 2016 election night meltdown to last week’s viral SAT score roast – was nowhere. No solidarity tweet from @StephenAtHome, no band-led parody on The Late Show set, not even a subtle shade in his November 29 monologue about Harvard grads. Colbert’s team, usually loquacious with Emmy bait, stonewalled queries: “Steve’s focused on the show. Next question.” Off-record whispers from CBS sources paint a picture of exhaustion: Colbert, 62 and post-appendectomy, has been “phoning it in” since July’s cancellation announcement, his writers’ room a ghost town of burnout. “He’s gutted about the ax,” one producer confided over Zoom cocktails. “Kimmel’s fight feels like Round 2 of his own war – why poke the bear when you’re already bleeding?”
The silence has ignited a tinderbox of speculation. On Reddit’s r/LateShow, threads like “Colbert Ghosting Kimmel – Feud or Fold?” rack up 45,000 upvotes, with top comments theorizing everything from a secret non-compete pact (Colbert’s CBS exit clauses allegedly bar “advocacy for suspended colleagues”) to outright betrayal: “Steve’s cutting a Netflix deal – why burn bridges with Disney?” X (formerly Twitter) lit up with #ColbertSilent, blending memes of Colbert as a zipped-lip mime alongside Kimmel’s pig-Trump graphic. One viral post from comedian Hasan Minhaj read: “If late-night doesn’t stand together, we’re just punchlines for the administration. @StephenAtHome – your move.” Even Barack Obama, ever the elder statesman, liked a repost without comment, fueling whispers of a “progressive purge.”
Dig deeper, and the rift traces to September’s Kirk fallout. When ABC first benched Kimmel for quipping that the “MAGA gang” was “milking Charlie’s death like a bad sequel,” Colbert devoted his entire September 17 monologue to solidarity: “Jimmy, if they come for you, they come for all of us. Trump’s not just mad – he’s scared of laughter.” It drew 7.2 million viewers and an Emmy nod for writing. But post-return, as Kimmel’s ratings soared (up 22% year-over-year) while Colbert’s dipped to 2.1 million, envy simmered. “Steve sees Jimmy as the survivor,” a Late Show insider dished. “Colbert’s show ends on his terms – or so CBS says. But watching Kimmel thrive? It’s salt in the wound.” Add Trump’s dual-targeting – lumping Colbert with Kimmel in his “fire the losers” screeds – and the dynamic sours: Why risk FCC heat when your own curtain call looms?
Kimmel, ever the fighter, broke his post-suspension hush on Instagram Live November 29 from his Malibu deck, baby son Billy gurgling in the background. “Look, suspensions suck – we know that song,” he said, referencing the Kirk saga that briefly made him a free-speech martyr. “But this? It’s Trump 2.0: bully the mic, silence the room. And yeah, I’ve texted a few folks… radio silence from some corners. Hurts, but whatever. We’ll laugh last.” The stream, viewed by 1.4 million, ended with a plea: “Tune in when we do – because if we don’t fight now, late-night’s just bedtime stories for adults.”
As of this morning, ABC’s “review” drags on, with whispers of a mediated return by December 2 – or a full pivot to guest hosts like John Oliver. Sinclair affiliates tease preempting with Fox News reruns, while Carr’s Senate testimony looms like a storm cloud. Colbert? He taped a bland holiday segment yesterday, riffing on turkey recipes sans politics. Fans chant “Speak up, Steve!” outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, but the host slips out a side door, collar up against the chill.
In a town built on facades, Colbert’s quiet isn’t just notable – it’s nuclear. Is it strategy, spite, or surrender? As Kimmel battles for airtime, the man who once shared his foxhole stands apart, leaving late-night to wonder: If the kings of comedy won’t crown each other, who’s left to mock the clowns in charge? The mics are hot, the stakes eternal – but without Colbert’s voice, the punchline falls flat. And in Trump’s America, silence isn’t golden.
