Steve Pond's Blog, page 17

Colbert Mocks Disney for Suspending Kimmel With ‘Be Our Guest’ Parody ‘Shut Your Trap’ | Video

Stephen Colbert mocked Disney hard for suspending Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday’s “The Late Show.” His monologue, of course, included bon mots like the observation that the suspension “proves Disney is #1 in streaming,” because company leaders were “pissing themselves” in fear of Trump.

But before the monologue, Colbert began Thursday’s episode with a cold open that went almost as hard by channeling “Beauty and the Beast.”

As always, the cold open started with a supercut of recent news reports, in this case explaining that Disney suspended Kimmel after being threatened by the head of the FCC over comments Kimmel made referencing the man who killed right wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Then, the scene changed to feature a parody of Lumière, the French-accented candelabra voiced by Jerry Orbach in the 1991 animated Disney classic. Only this version is, somehow, wearing a MAGA hat.

“Listen up. In light of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, ABC’s parent company, the Walt Disney Corporation, has a little message for all the employees,” the parody Lumière said.

Then he began a parody of the breakout song “Be Our Guest,” called “Shut Your Trap.”

The lyrics were:

“Shut your trap, shut your trap, we are warning you to cut the crap. Our Dear Leader’s skin is thinner than a sheet of plastic wrap. Mum’s the word, have you heard, kissing ass it what’s preferred. Don’t insult our great dictator, or he’ll hit you with this turd. The new rule at ABC: Don’t make fun of Donny T. And don’t point out that his neck is mostly flap. So don’t you make a scene, or mention Jeff Epstein, or your show will be scrapped. Shut your trap.”

Watch the amusing bit below:

Kimmel was suspended on Wednesday by ABC in response to conservative outrage over comments he’d made in his monologue two days before about Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old who murdered right wing influencer Charlie Kirk. Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”

His assumption that Robinson was politically right wing was based on all available evidence made public by authorities as of Monday, when he made that comment. On Tuesday, more details came out that indicated the opposite may be true, and that Robinson may have also had personal motivations. Though there are still a lot of questions yet to be answered.

That context was ignored by conservative critics. So it is on Wednesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr stoked outrage by threatening ABC and parent company Disney during a podcast appearance. Local TV powerhouses Nexstar and Sinclair then both pulled Kimmel from their ABC affiliates. ABC and Disney suspended the show “indefinitely” shortly after.

The post Colbert Mocks Disney for Suspending Kimmel With ‘Be Our Guest’ Parody ‘Shut Your Trap’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Jimmy Fallon Shows Kimmel Solidarity With Fake Censorship of Jokes About Trump | Video

Jimmy Fallon showed solidarity with Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday with a gag mocking the Trump administration’s attacks on free speech.

Fallon said, “a lot of people are worried that we won’t keep saying what we want to say, or that we’ll be censored, but I’m going to cover the President’s trip to the UK, just like I normally would.” Then he introduced a: Whenever the joke mocked Donald Trump, his announcer interrupted to censor the punchline.

But before getting there, Fallon started off by paying tribute to Kimmel.

“Well guys, the big story is that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everyone thinking, ‘WTF.’ But to be honest with you all, I don’t know what’s going on — no one does. But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he is a decent, funny, and loving guy. And I hope he comes back,” he said.

Then came the fake censorship. Fallon noted, for instance, the way Trump was trolled during his trip to the UK this week by images of the president with Jeffrey Epstein. But when he said “Jeff,” his announcer interrupted him to add “Goldblum.”

Fallon then got a little more pointed in mocking Trump. For instance, he pretended to be a fawning supporter, saying, “President Trump just wrapped up his three day trip to the UK, and he looked incredibly handsome. His tie was exactly the right length and his face looked like a color that exists in nature.”

“To sum it up, President Trump is making America great again by restoring our national reputation, reinvigorating our economy and rebuilding our military. I hereby nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize,” he also said.

Another joke involved how Trump praised the close bond between the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Fallon imaged Trump saying, “the only closer bond I share is with Prince Andrew,” a reference to Andrew’s own ties to Epstein.

Watch the whole monologue below:

For those catching up, Kimmel was suspended on Wednesday by ABC in response to conservative outrage over comments he’d made in his monologue two days before about Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old who murdered right wing influencer Charlie Kirk. Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”

His assumption that Robinson was politically right wing was based on all available evidence made public by authorities as of Monday, when he made that comment. On Tuesday, more details came out that indicated the opposite may be true, and that Robinson may have also had personal motivations. Though there are still a lot of questions yet to be answered.

That context was ignored by conservative critics. So it is on Wednesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr stoked outrage by threatening ABC and parent company Disney during a podcast appearance. Local TV powerhouses Nexstar and Sinclair then both pulled Kimmel from their ABC affiliates. ABC and Disney suspended the show “indefinitely” shortly after.

The post Jimmy Fallon Shows Kimmel Solidarity With Fake Censorship of Jokes About Trump | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Jon Stewart Rages Against Kimmel Suspension With ‘Patriotically Obedient,’ Pro-Trump Parody on ‘The Daily Show’ | Video

Thursday’s episode of “The Daily Show,” hosted by Jon Stewart in a rare Thursday appearance, began with a brutal response to ABC suspending Jimmy Kimmel:

“From Comedy Central. It’s the all new government-approved Daily Show with your patriotically obedient host, Jon Stewart.”

But that, as it turns out, wasn’t just a one-off joke ahead of a straight commentary on the matter. It was instead the set up to an episode-long gag in which “The Daily Show” was reimagined as a cringe, North Korea-esque propaganda outlet devoted entirely to praising Donald Trump and Republicans, and of course condemning his enemies.

And it was possibly the best response to what happened to Kimmel since he was suspended a day before, in response to right wing outrage over a comment he made assuming facts about the man who killed Charlie Kirk — that were later disproved by information that only became available later.

Appropriately, instead of the usual fake newsroom set, the entire, 23-minute-long opening segment featured Stewart in front of what appeared to be an incredibly gaudy, excessively gold-trimmed room on part with what Trump has recently done to the White House.

“We have another fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show,” Stewart said at the start. “Wow. I’m coming in tonight from a real s—hole, the crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no one’s ever seen before, someone’s National Guard should invade this place. Am I right?”

At this, the audience laughed loudly, prompting a panicked-looking Stewart to rasp out “shut the f— up!” at them, a gag that would continue throughout the segment. He then began the State TV parody version of the usual “The Daily Show” news recap, starting with Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK.

Or, as Stewart put it, “our great father has not been home. For father has been gracing England with his legendary warmth and radiance.”

“Gaze upon him! With a gait even more majestic than that of the royal horses that pranced before him, he wowed the English with charm, intelligence and an undeniable sexual charisma that filled their air like a pheromone-packed London fog,” Stewart continued.

His recap of Trump’s visit continued, with the actual events framed by absurd, obviously false, extravagant praise. “The perfectly tinted Trump dazzled his hosts at dinner with a demonstration of unmatched oratory skill,” Stewart declared.

Short after, praising Trump’s claim to high literacy in highly sarcastic obsequiousness, Stewart added, “I’ll tell you whose client list Trump’s name is on: Dewey Decimal’s.”

“But of course,” Stewart continued, “as great as those authors are, there can only be one most tremendous author in the English language… Oh, how fortune has smiled upon us, for that very scribe is also our dear leader.”

Things continued along these lines, with Stewart moving on to other reasons Trump has been in the news recently, and of course the more negative the reason, the more fawning his praise. Eventually, he reached Trump’s comments from earlier in the day Thursday about Kimmel’s suspension.

Said Trump in part, “he had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago. So you know, you could call that free speech or not.” At that, Stewart began to hammer the point of all this home.

“You may call it free speech in jolly old England, but in America, we have little something called the First Amendment. Let me tell you how it works. There’s something called a Talent-O-Meter. It’s a completely scientific instrument that is kept on the President’s desk, and it tells the President when a performer’s TQ talent quotient, measured mostly by niceness to the president, goes below a certain level, At which point the FCC must be notified to threaten the acquisition prospects for billion dollar mergers of network affiliates.”

“These affiliates are then asked to give ultimatums to the even larger mega corporation that controls the flow of state approved content, or the FCC can just threaten those licenses directly. It’s basic science,” Stewart said. “There are
certain rules of free speech that we must all abide by. But in case anyone needs a refresher, we’re going to go over the rules.”

The first, as Stewart summed up after playing clips of Trump supports in the media who back his attacks on free speech, was “people cannot just go on television and mislead viewers with made up.”

He then ran a supercut of blatant lies told by various hosts on Fox News.

Next, as Stewart summarized after playing more clips, was “You can’t say fascist. You can’t say enemy, mistake. You can’t say less than human. These are simple rules that any responsible member of a society can easily follow.”

He then, of course, played a bunch of clips of Trump and his supporters in the media doing exactly that.

Next, Stewart eventually said, “only a bad person would celebrate violence or make crass jokes about it.” This was followed by clips of multiple high ranking Republicans and conservative media allies mocking violence inflicted on Democrats.

“I don’t know who this ‘Johnny Dribble Live’ ABC character is, but the point is, our great administration has laid out very clear rules on free speech,” Stewart said as he started to wrap things up. “Now some naysayers may argue that this administration’s speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel of a ruse, a smokescreen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation. principle-less and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic governance. Some people would say that. Not me, though. I think it’s great!”

Watch the whole thing below:

The post Jon Stewart Rages Against Kimmel Suspension With ‘Patriotically Obedient,’ Pro-Trump Parody on ‘The Daily Show’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Mexodus’ Off Broadway Review: One of America’s Darker Chapters Now Explodes With Music

The new theater season has its first must-see musical. It’s “Mexodus,” written and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, which had its New York City premiere Thursday at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre after a few regional productions. You’ll be entertained, but you might learn something, too.

I generally hate being “taught” anything in the theater, but for me, it’s about the truth with respect to “Mexodus.” Unlike some critics, I often invite as my guest someone who might know more about the subject matter on stage that evening than I do. In the case of “Mexodus,” I invited my Spanish instructor, born in Mexico. On the way into the Minetta Lane, he asked me, “Do you know about the Mexodus?” I had to reply no, beyond it being the title of the show we were about to see. When he told me that people back in the middle of the 19th Century left the United States for Mexico, I replied, “You mean, leaving Mexico to come here, right?“

Clearly there are things taught in schools in Guadalajara that weren’t taught in America decades ago, much less now.

Not to make this new musical sound like a history lesson, when Quijada and Robinson tells us the Mexodus story at the top of the show, my mind flipped to that scene in “Giant” where Elizabeth Taylor tells Rock Hudson, “We really stole Texas from Mexico, didn’t we, Mr. Benedict.”

In 1848, to be precise. Blacks who found themselves free in Mexico’s Texas suddenly found themselves slaves in America’s Texas until after the Civil War.

For Robinson, the story is personal because it’s his family history. He plays a slave named Henry who escapes to the Rio Grande but has to kill a white man in the process. Once in Mexico, Henry sleeps on the rented property of Carlos (Quijada) who may turn this Black man into Texas bounty hunters for a hefty fee. From there, “Mexodus” tells a very thrilling tale.

Quijada and Robinson sing and play about a dozen instruments between them. The musical is subtitled “a two-person live-looped new musical.” Now, I know as much about synthesizers as I do the real Mexodus story, but Quijada and Robinson often begin playing an instrument and then the music is live-looped on the synthesizer. Throughout the show, the two performers keep tapping little gadgets strewn around the stage to cue the music. It turns into a fascinating visual leitmotif, one that gives an intriguing accent to Riw Rakkulchon junkyard of a set. You’ll want to explore this heap of garbage. Also fun are the costumes, by David Mendizabal, which, among other delightful details, feature spurs on Carlos’ sneakers.

Quijada and Robinson’s score has the immediate, infectious quality of folk music, but to a hip-hop beat. They are charismatic performers, and it will be difficult to find anyone to replace them since “Mexodus” requires multi-talented musician-singers. Quijada and Robinson as actors, however, don’t always express all the colors of their music and their book, which provides some very hefty dramatic scenes.

In addition to the costumes, Mendizabal directs “Mexodus.” He turns it into a ride that travels with incredible speed and excitement.

The post ‘Mexodus’ Off Broadway Review: One of America’s Darker Chapters Now Explodes With Music appeared first on TheWrap.

Seth Meyers Says ‘We Must All Stand Up’ for Free Speech After Kimmel Suspension | Video

In a night where several late night shows will surely stand up for fellow host Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers defended his friend amid the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

During his “A Closer Look” segment, Meyers played a montage of Donald Trump claiming to stand up for the first amendment and freedom of speech in the United States. Shortly after, Meyers’ team cheekily played a second montage discussing ABC’s suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — an incident that occurred Wednesday in response to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s threats over a Monday monologue comment amid the fallout of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Meyers said that we are now in “a big moment” for democracy and freedom of speech in America, defending his friend amid the suspension.

“It is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way that it’s a privilege and honor to do this show every night,” Meyers said. “I wake up every day, I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech, and we’re gonna keep doing our show in the way we’ve always done it: with enthusiasm and integrity.” Meyers is then interrupted by a fart sound effect.

“This is a big moment in our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression,” Meyers continues. “There’s a reason free speech is in the very first amendment: it stands above all others. You may even say its…”

“The ultimate,” a clip of Trump finishes. You can watch the full segment below.

The post Seth Meyers Says ‘We Must All Stand Up’ for Free Speech After Kimmel Suspension | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Hollywood Teamsters Condemn Kimmel Shutdown as ‘Greed-Fueled Consolidation of Corporate Power’

The Hollywood Teamsters union has now condemned ABC’s indefinite suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, calling it a “greed fueled consolidation of corporate power” that sells out “working families and our American freedoms.”

The union also accused the FCC of using its power to approve mergers to “actively encourage corporations to clamp down even harder on free speech,” linking this directly to a merger being pursued by one of the biggest local TV broadcasters in the country.

“We are witnessing a dangerous trend of corporations trying to fast-track mergers through the back door. This reckless and greed-fueled consolidation of corporate power is a direct threat to good union jobs and the livelihoods of our members. Do not let the politics of the moment distract you — corporations are selling out working families and our American freedoms to amass even greater wealth,” the Teamsters said in a statement.

FCC chairman Brendan Carr threatened ABC and Disney during podcast appearance Wednesday, demanding that Kimmel be suspended or fired for a comment he made about Charlie Kirk’s killer. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr literally said.

Hours later, Nexstar, which has more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets, said it would preempt the broadcast of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely, calling Kimmel’s remarks “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.” Sinclair made a similar announcement soon after.

As Teamsters pointed out in its statement, Nexstar is seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with competing broadcast station group Tegna. While Nexstar has denied that the merger played a factor in its decision to suspend Kimmel, which ABC then followed with a nationwide suspension of his show, Teamsters sees it otherwise.

“Once completed, this merger deal could result in this company owning 80% of US TV households and far exceeds the longtime 39% limit on ownership of stations that we’ve seen over the past three decades,” the union said.

“Carr is not a politician — he is a regulator. The personal political opinions of any regulator should not result in job loss for ordinary, hardworking Americans. We should not be watching our government actively encourage corporations to clamp down even harder on free speech. It’s inappropriate and lethal for our democracy and economy,” the statement continued.

Following Trump’s election victory last year, it was expected that his return to the White House would hasten the expected consolidation of Hollywood’s media companies.

But Carr’s leadership at the FCC has led to a twist in that trend, as the regulator has been accused of using merger approvals to push companies into complying with Trump’s demands on a wide range of issues, from eliminating DEI initiatives to Paramount agreeing to a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the president against CBS News and “60 Minutes” for an interview with Trump’s election opponent, Kamala Harris, in exchange for approval of a merger with Skydance.

Hollywood Teamsters’ statement condemning Kimmel’s suspension and the Nexstar-Tegna merger bid also comes a week after the Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount, under new CEO David Ellison, is putting together a bid to acquire the entirety of fellow legacy studio Warner Bros. Discovery.

“If left unchecked, the consolidation we see at corporations like Nexstar will continue to inflict great harm on the film and television industry, resulting in more layoffs, reduced job security, less content, and an overall need for fewer skilled Hollywood workers,” Teamsters said.

On Thursday, protests were staged outside the Disney backlot in Burbank as well as in front of the Hollywood Masonic Temple, where “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has been broadcast since its premiere in 2003. Members of multiple Hollywood unions, most notably the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, were seen at the protests.

What set this off is that on Monday during his monologue, Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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.”

Kimmel’s assumption that Robinson had right wing political views was based on all available evidence that was public as of Monday. But on Tuesday, more details came out that established pretty clearly that Robinson didn’t hold right wing politics, may be at least somewhat left wing, and was apparently motivated by personal concerns. Many questions remain unanswered, however.

That context has largely been ignored by conservative critics, or those entities the Teamsters accuse of seeking favor with the Trump administration.

The post Hollywood Teamsters Condemn Kimmel Shutdown as ‘Greed-Fueled Consolidation of Corporate Power’ appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Peacemaker’ Star Frank Grillo Unpacks That ‘One-Sided’ Interrogation Brawl: ‘It’s a Turning Point for Flag’

Note: This story contains spoilers from “Peacemaker” Season 2, Episode 5.

The Rick Flag Sr. and Peacemaker confrontation has been a long time coming, and their collision did not live up to the expectations for one of the two.

“Peacemaker” Season 2, Episode 5, finally put Flag in the same room with the man who killed his son. For two men who made a career expending violence on others, Flag and Peacemaker (John Cena) being locked in an interrogation room together wasn’t the bloody affair you would expect. Frank Grillo told TheWrap that Peacemaker’s unwillingness to fight back when Flag starts beating on him rattles the man.

“It’s very one-sided,” Grillo said. “I don’t get the satisfaction that I was hoping for with him kind of fighting back.”

He added: “I think you see something happen to Flag in Episode 5 where he gets all of this out and he thinks it’s going to be something, there’s going to be some kind of finality or there’s going to be some closure — and there’s not. I think it’s a lesson for everyone. It’s not what’s out there that’s going to fix what’s ailing me; it’s what’s inside that I need to work on. I think it’s a turning point for Flag.”

The third episode of the season revealed that Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) were seeing each other before Peacemaker killed him in “The Suicide Squad.” Episode 5 included another flashback to Flag Jr.’s funeral and Harcourt being approached by Flag Sr. about tracking down his son’s killer. Grillo explained that the years between Flag Jr.’s death and where we are in “Peacemaker” have allowed the father to hone some of his manipulation skills to get everyone working toward his goal.

“I think the way I use Rick Flag Jr. with Harcourt is brilliant,” he said. “I kind of give her ownership of her feelings and relationship with him, and almost convinced her that, ‘Of course you want to do the same thing I want to do with this guy because you loved [Flag Jr.] so much.'”

Grillo added: “I think I am 1,000% in full manipulative form with not just her, but with Economos and all the rest of them. They are my tools, and I’m going to use them as I need to get what I need.”

Flag Sr. is going to have his work cut out for him in the final three episodes of the season, still. Peacemaker has been released from custody and the original plan is for Flag and his team to follow him and gain control of the dimensional door for A.R.G.U.S. Unfortunately, Peacemaker decides this mysterious other dimension where he’s viewed as a hero is a better fit and he crosses over with no plans to come back and no way for Flag to get to him. With plans thwarted and Peacemaker slipped through his fingers, Grillo said the final episodes of the season have his character plotting a new way for his son’s killer to suffer.

“Now the plan changes, and it’s like I know what I need to do to make him suffer,” Grillo shared. “It’s not hitting him, that’s never going to work. I got something much bigger and much better and much more lasting of a punishment that is going to destroy the Peacemaker.”

“Peacemaker” Season 2 airs Thursdays on HBO Max.

The post ‘Peacemaker’ Star Frank Grillo Unpacks That ‘One-Sided’ Interrogation Brawl: ‘It’s a Turning Point for Flag’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Stephen Colbert Stands With Kimmel, Mocks Disney as ‘No. 1 in Streaming’ for ‘Pissing Themselves’ Over Trump | Video

Stephen Colbert has some choice words for Disney and ABC.

Colbert went on Instagram ahead of his Thursday night show to tease his monologue, which addresses the Wednesday suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Colbert — who recently faced his own cancellation after calling Paramount’s payout to President Donald Trump a “big fat bribe” — admonished media executives for capitulating to threats from Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

The late night host also openly mocked Disney officials for reportedly “pissing themselves” over these threats, saying it “proves Disney is #1 in streaming.”

“This may seem bad, but Carr was quick to reassure everyone, posting ‘While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values,'” Colbert recited. “Well you know what my community values are buster? Freedom of speech!” You can watch the full clip below.

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As Kimmel faces suspension, Colbert is currently staring down the impending ending of his own late show. In July Paramount and CBS canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” soon after Colbert criticized Trump and his parent network, over what they cited as “purely a financial decision” — as Paramount’s Skydance merger pended FCC approval.

The merger later went through.

Kimmel’s suspension came in a similar situation. The late night host came under fire for comments he made during Monday’s monologue about the MAGA movement and Charlie Kirk’s killer, Tyler Robinson. These comments were made while few details were known about Robinson (some of which was cleared up during a Tuesday police press conference), and most commentary about his identity was purely speculative.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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,” Kimmel said on Monday.

On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened ABC over the incident during a podcast appearance. Soon after, Nexstar — which owns more than 30 nationwide ABC affiliates — announced it would preempt all broadcasts of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” ABC soon followed suit, saying the show was indefinitely suspended.

Like Paramount at the time of Colbert’s cancellation (Colbert is set to finish out the season), Nexstar too has a merger pending FCC approval. The company is currently attempting to acquire Tegna, another station group and direct competitor.

The post Stephen Colbert Stands With Kimmel, Mocks Disney as ‘No. 1 in Streaming’ for ‘Pissing Themselves’ Over Trump | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Shari Redstone Says Late Night TV Is ‘Financially Not Viable’ Amid Colbert-Kimmel Upheaval | Video

Shari Redstone does not see a bright future for late night. Speaking Thursday at Axios’ Media Trends Live event, the former Paramount Global chair said that shows like CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” were “financially not viable” and “it had been that way for a long time.”

“I can tell you that we had been looking at late night,” she said of CBS and its parent company’s decision to stop airing “The Late Show” in May 2026. “It was financially not viable, it had been that way for a long time. We had made a decision months prior to the announcement that we were not going to be going forward with that show. I love Stephen. He does a great job, but we really needed to be in a financially valuable business. And you saw we did that with James Corden as well.”

Her comments came in conversation with Axios media correspondent Sara Fischer at the live event, just as late night TV came under heightened scrutiny yet again amid ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. While sources at Disney have told TheWrap that the production pause is not intended to be a cancellation, whether or not the Disney-owned network’s late night host returns remains to be seen.

Watch Redstone’s appearance at the Axios event below:

Redstone was asked in the 15-minute interview about ABC taking Kimmel’s late night show off the air for saying in Monday’s broadcast that Trump and his supporters were trying “desperately” to characterize the shooter who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk as “anything other than one of them.”

“I don’t know all of the facts around the decision that was made,” Redstone said. “I don’t have the history, I don’t have the context, so I’m certainly not going to speak to why ABC made the decision, or whether it – not because of Trump or because of any other reasons. But I do think we all need to be thoughtful of the content we’re putting on air, given the division that exists in this country. And that’s not a direct reflection on Kimmel. That’s just a much broader reflection on the world we’re living in.”

The executive, who just joined Israeli studio Sipur as chair of the board this week, was also hopeful for the future of CBS News under Paramount’s new owner David Ellison. Speaking to talks of Ellison’s potential acquisition of Bari Weiss’ The Free Press, Redstone said Weiss would be “a good voice” for the network.

“I know there’s been talk about Bari, and I think she would be a good voice, so I’m hopeful,” she said. “I’m not going to go into it from a business standpoint, but I do think she’s a voice that would bring a different perspective. And then I think at the end of the day, you’ve got to give your audience credit for being smart enough to hear different points of view and being able to narrow down on the facts.”

Redstone added: “We’ve gotten to the point where news needs to be more balanced. It needs to be fact-based. I think that people’s opinions are getting confused with the facts, and I think we still have the same challenge we had before, which is we need more accountability, we need more standards, we need checks and balances, and we have to go back to a place where facts are what the news is about, and opinions are not facts. And by the way, you can have opinions, but then you need to have people with different opinions and different sides, so people can hear everything.”

Weiss’ The Free Press has reportedly been eyed by Paramount for $200 million, but an individual with knowledge told TheWrap earlier this month the sale price was expected to be lower than that. If the publication is acquired, it is likely Weiss would be put in a leadership role at CBS News, TheWrap previously reported.

The post Shari Redstone Says Late Night TV Is ‘Financially Not Viable’ Amid Colbert-Kimmel Upheaval | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Kamala Harris Says Jimmy Kimmel ABC Pause Is an ‘Outright Abuse of Power,’ Trump Uses ‘Fear as a Weapon’

Jimmy Kimmel can count the former Vice President among his supporters.

On Thursday, 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris condemned ABC’s suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” as part of “an outright abuse of power, and called out media companies for “capitulating” even as Trump “is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon.”

“What we are witnessing is an outright abuse of power,” Harris posted on social platforms. “This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats. We cannot dare to be silent or complacent in the face of this frontal assault on free speech. We, the People, deserve better.”

What we are witnessing is an outright abuse of power.

This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats.

We cannot dare to be…

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 18, 2025

The post comes one day after “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was “pre-empted indefinitely” by ABC and their station partners — the result of comments Kimmel made during a Monday monologue about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang 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,” Kimmel said on Monday.

It’s worth noting that Kimmel’s assumption on Monday, that Robinson was part of the political right, was based on all available evidence that was public at the time. On Tuesday, more details were made public that established pretty clearly that Robinson didn’t hold right wing politics, may be at least somewhat left wing, and was apparently motivated by personal concerns. Many questions remain unanswered, however.

That context was ignored by conservative critics, including FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who threatened ABC during a podcast appearance. Soon after Nexstar — which owns more than 30 ABC affiliates across the country — announced it would preempt Kimmel on all stations. Sinclair followed soon after.

Nexstar recently bid to merge with Tegna, another station group and direct Nexstar competitor. This merger is currently pending approval from Carr — though Nexstar denied this being a factor in their decision. It’s a similar situation as the one Paramount found themselves in when “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” was cancelled soon after he claimed his parent company gave the Trump administration “a big fat bribe.”

“I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next,” Trump said at the time.

Rather than make the story go away, the suspension only emboldened critics, including Sinclair, which declared after Kimmel was suspended that this wasn’t enough. The company, which owns hundreds of TV stations around the country, demanded among other things that Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family, and give them a significant personal donation, and one to Kirk’s conservative active organization Turning Point USA.

It must be noted here that Kimmel has never actually said anything negative about Kirk’s family and he has consistently condemned Kirk’s killing.

Harris is far from the only one to speak up in Kimmel’s favor following the suspension. Politicians, celebrities, media personalities and audiences all flocked to social media to defend Kimmel and denounced what they see as an attack on free speech. Members of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA gathered outside Disney in Burbank on Thursday in protest of the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” company.

Kimmel’s ally and fellow late night host Jon Stewart announced that he would have a special broadcast Thursday night. Though he played coy on the details, it’s safe to assume what he’ll be talking about.

ABC has confirmed to TheWrap that Kimmel’s suspension is not permanent.

The post Kamala Harris Says Jimmy Kimmel ABC Pause Is an ‘Outright Abuse of Power,’ Trump Uses ‘Fear as a Weapon’ appeared first on TheWrap.