The walls are closing in on America’s once-invincible late-night comedy machine. After ABC abruptly yanked *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* off the air in disgrace this week, another host is suddenly on the run. Jimmy Fallon, long derided for his shallow humor and softball interviews of Democrats, abruptly canceled his scheduled appearance at Fast Company’s “Innovation Festival” in New York City on Thursday.
Festival organizers confirmed that Fallon had been slated to headline a session called “Staying On Brand.” Ironically, that’s exactly what he did—he stayed “on brand” for today’s weak-kneed Hollywood elite by running away from controversy the moment things got uncomfortable. Instead of Fallon, the session limped on with marketing executive Bozoma Saint John and a magazine editor.
Fallon’s sudden retreat comes just 24 hours after ABC and its parent company Disney suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show indefinitely for grotesque comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. In a nation still mourning the shocking killing, Kimmel went on national television and not only mocked the victim but smeared millions of Americans who supported Kirk’s mission. That was a bridge too far—even for Hollywood.
The collapse began when Nexstar Communications, which operates 23 ABC affiliates, refused to air Kimmel’s program after his vile monologues. Nexstar president Andrew Alford blasted Kimmel’s rhetoric as “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.” When Nexstar pulled the plug, the dominoes fell fast. Disney scrambled to save face, suspending the show before the FCC and the White House could bring the hammer down.
Kimmel’s comments were beyond the pale. On Monday and Tuesday, he openly mocked Republicans mourning Kirk, accusing conservatives of trying to distance themselves from the accused killer. He sneered, “The MAGA gang \[is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
But facts don’t care about Kimmel’s narrative. Investigators revealed that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson had abandoned his conservative Mormon upbringing and swung hard left in recent years. He embraced radical pro-LGBTQ causes and even confessed to his transgender partner that he murdered Kirk because he had “had enough of his hatred.” In other words, Robinson was no MAGA Republican—he was a deranged leftist activist.
Kimmel ignored the truth and instead used his platform to ridicule President Trump, mocking his statement of mourning as childish. He took further jabs at Vice President JD Vance and FBI Director Kash Patel, belittling the very officials tasked with handling the fallout of the assassination.
The backlash was swift and bipartisan. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr blasted Kimmel’s remarks as “truly sick” and warned Disney that the agency was prepared to act. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said, signaling that the government could use regulatory pressure if Hollywood elites continued to treat political violence as comedy.
For President Trump, who has waged a long battle against the liberal late-night class, the suspension was vindication. On Truth Social he celebrated: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.” Trump went further, urging NBC to cut ties with Fallon and Seth Meyers, whom he labeled “two total losers.” He reminded Americans that Kimmel’s ratings were already in freefall, worse even than Stephen Colbert’s before CBS canceled his show earlier this year.
Outside Kimmel’s Hollywood studio, would-be audience members were stunned when told Wednesday’s taping was canceled. A show that once symbolized late-night’s stranglehold on American pop culture ended not with laughter, but with silence and locked doors.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Disney or Nexstar. Disney is seeking FCC approval for ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network, while Nexstar awaits Trump administration sign-off on its \$6.2 billion takeover of Tegna. Neither company can afford to be associated with Kimmel’s reckless smears or the perception that their networks condone attacks on conservatives.
The cracks in late-night comedy are no longer hairline—they’re earthquakes. Colbert has already been axed. Kimmel is off the air. Fallon is ducking public appearances. Seth Meyers clings to irrelevance. What was once a cultural juggernaut is now a house of cards collapsing under the weight of arrogance, bias, and contempt for half the country.
Conservatives have long warned that Hollywood’s bubble would burst when it crossed the line from “edgy comedy” into outright propaganda. That moment has arrived. The American people are rejecting the sneers and smears of late-night millionaires who punch down at victims while excusing political violence from the left.
Jimmy Fallon may have dodged one festival, but the bigger story is this: the era of late-night liberal dominance is over. And it’s ending in disgrace.
