David Letterman says Kimmel suspension will lead to 'something from which we won't recover'

Fellow talk show hosts David Letterman and Seth Meyers have Jimmy Kimmel's back.

While appearing at The Atlantic Festival on Sept. 18, the former "Late Show" host expressed dismay over ABC's decision to indefinitely pull "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" from the air following pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.

"This is a misery," Letterman said. "In the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship, sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched."

Sharing support for "my good friend" Kimmel, he continued, "I feel bad about this because we all see where this is going, correct? It's managed media. It's no good. It's silly. It's ridiculous. And 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 noted that during his years of hosting late-night shows and regularly criticizing the current presidential administration, "Not once were we squeezed by anyone from any governmental agencies, let alone the dreaded FCC."

"The institution of the president of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show," he said, adding that the situation "would be hilarious if it wasn't all leading to something from which we won't recover."

Letterman also revealed he has texted with Kimmel, who he joked is "sitting up in bed taking nourishment" and is "going to be fine."

ABC said on Sept. 17 that Kimmel's show has been "pre-empted indefinitely" after Brendan Carr, chairman of the FCC, slammed the comedian's comments about Charlie Kirk's killing and pressured the network to take action.

Kimmel had said on his show on Sept. 15. that "the MAGA gang" was "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."

Appearing on Benny Johnson's show on Sept. 17, Carr seemingly threatened Disney-owned ABC over Kimmel's comments. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he warned. "These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."

Carr added that "you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this" and said the FCC has "remedies that we could look at."

After Carr's statements, Nexstar Media Group Inc. said it would stop airing Kimmel's show on its ABC affiliates due to the comedian's "offensive and insensitive" statements. The indefinite suspension of Kimmel's show by ABC was announced soon after.

Letterman slammed Carr while speaking at The Atlantic Festival, quipping, "Who's hiring these goons? Mario Puzo?"

Seth Meyers says freedom of speech has been threatened

In a Sept. 18 episode of "Late Night with Seth Meyers," the "SNL" alum echoed sentiments that the First Amendment right to freedom of speech is under threat following Kimmel's suspension. "This is a big moment in our democracy and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression," Meyers said.

Despite a sarcastic bit where he said he has always "admired and respected" President Donald Trump, Meyers assured fans that his show will not change its critical tone out of fear of retaliation.

"May I just say, it is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way it is an honor to do this show every night. I wake up every day and count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech and we're going to keep doing our show the way we've always done it with enthusiasm and integrity," he added.

ABC's move sparked widespread outrage throughout the entertainment industry, with critics decrying it as government censorship, given that the suspension followed an apparent threat from the FCC.

"We cannot be a country where late night talk show hosts serve at the pleasure of the president," Ari Cohn, lead counsel for tech policy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said in a statement to USA TODAY. "But until institutions grow a backbone and learn to resist government pressure, that is the country we are."

The suspension of Kimmel's show came two months after CBS controversially canceled "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." CBS said this was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," though critics accused the network of ending the show to appease Trump, given Colbert is a prominent critic of the president.

Trump has celebrated the cancellation of Colbert's show and the suspension of Kimmel's, and in a Truth Social post on Sept. 17, he called on NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next.

Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY