Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air. So, can everyone take a Tylenol and just shut the hell up already, because this wasn’t an attack on free speech, Trump didn’t order the show to be ripped off the air, and the late-night host was still rich, free, and famous. He didn’t have his face broken by a retractable baton a la V for Vendetta, where a fictional late-night host is arrested for mocking the high chancellor of the UK. In that film, yes, that’s actual fascism, where the prime minister’s office is no more. That’s not what happened here, but everyone freaked out, and while Bradley Whitford’s CNN segment on this isn’t the most insane, it was still ridiculous.
Whitford is a prolific actor who’s done almost everything. He played Al Pacino’s nephew, whom he choked out in Scent of a Woman, duked it out with Adam Sandler over a hotel fortune in Billy Madison, kept monsters at bay in The Cabin in the Woods, and was part of a family that kidnapped black men to be used as vessels for their rich white friends in Get Out. Oh, right, he was also White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in The West Wing, which is probably why he was tapped to do this segment.
DEVOID OF REALITY: Actor Bradley Whitford goes on an unhinged rant about Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 22, 2025
This was a "very clear attack on free speech."
"His response to this horrific murder was nothing but compassionate!" pic.twitter.com/y7cx8z7vpR
This was before Kimmel returned to the air. Still, the actor said this suspension was an attack on free speech, equated it to McCarthyism, and added that the real people who you need to blame for allowing these supposed attacks on our rights to continue are those who remain silent. Yes, these people cannot and will not tolerate those who want to stay neutral and not get involved—they will make you take a side.
He also said that Kimmel has cause for a lawsuit. None of that happened because he’s returned, and so have his dismal ratings. It was a business decision. There’s no evidence that Trump ordered this, or the cancellation of the equally horrid Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was losing $50 million/year. When people suck, they get fired in this business. Kimmel’s show isn’t good, but Disney executives caved due to the online Left, who are very vocal and unhinged.
Kimmel was suspended for his atrocious monologue about the Charlie Kirk assassination, for which he has not offered an apology for trying to blame the attack on conservatives. It was a lefty clown, Tyler Robinson, who shacked up with a transgender and reportedly was into furries.
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Yeah, totally sounds like a right-winger, right?
Look, just because Mr. Whitford played a top White House aide doesn’t mean he’s some authority on these issues. He can say whatever he wants, sure—but Josh Lyman doesn’t exist, and neither did the Bartlet White House.
STELTER: "This is so serious! America is a less free place if late night comedians cannot do & say what they want."
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 17, 2025
(Nexstar & ABC made the decision to end Kimmel's show, not the U.S. government.) pic.twitter.com/xAC2dSPVxM
I hope you’re sitting down, but Jimmy Kimmel has lost 73% of his audience since his big return… pic.twitter.com/S3kWl1Gmpd
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) September 29, 2025
It is absolutely amazing—truly amazing—how many journalists are straight up lying at the request of Kimmel’s PR team. Here are Kimmel’s words: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as… https://t.co/ffDuYngnUD
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) September 19, 2025
I did my best last night 🤷 But the fact is that 60 local ABC stations became fed up with the Kimmel show & took action.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 19, 2025
Kimmel routinely angers viewers with his lies & progressive politics, & you can’t sell ads in it because the ratings suck. It isn’t a free speech issue; it’s… pic.twitter.com/IuZMF1fCO3
As someone who worked for Disney corp for six years I can confirm that everyone there hates you as much as they hate Charlie Kirk.
— Peachy Keenan (@KeenanPeachy) September 20, 2025
When they bring Kimmel back, and they will, because they all love him and hate you, you are going to have to completely cut this company out of your… https://t.co/XuVxkFZgBv