Jimmy Kimmel calls for Paramount+ boycott in support of Stephen Colbert
Jimmy Kimmel has called for audiences to boycott Paramount+ as a move of support for Stephen Colbert, as the final night of The Late Show looms.
Kimmel was appearing as a guest on Colbert’s show on May 11th, alongside fellow rival talk show hosts Seth Meyers and John Oliver, and spoke about the differences between the impending cancellation of The Late Show compared to when he was taken off air for four days last September.
When asked about audience appetite for late-night shows, and how they are still as popular as ever, Kimmel responded (via Variety): “We have a lot of shows. 30,000 people watching each one, and it adds up.”
Explaining how the reach now goes far beyond the remits of traditional television viewing, he added: “People watch us on YouTube now. People have a lot of different options and they keep coming to us.”
Despite this, Kimmel went on to highlight a noticeable difference between the reception to Colbert’s cancellation and himself being taken off air last autumn, after he made a joke about Donald Trump’s response to the death of Charlie Kirk.
“I will tell you, when I got knocked off the air for a few days, people cancelled Disney+,” he continued, before adding, “Why aren’t people cancelling Paramount+?”
He then joked this was because “you never had it in the first place”, referencing the speculation that Colbert’s show was cancelled due to CBS’ settlement with Trump, and the network’s subsequent planned merger with Paramount and Skydance.
The company have insisted that the decision to axe the long-running talk show was a purely “financial decision”, and although Colbert has always stopped short of confirming any rumours, he said it was “reasonable to think” that the cancellation was “politically motivated” in an interview with GQ last year.
However, the camaraderie between the late-night landscape in the US remains strong, as Kimmel announced on May 11th that he would not air a new episode of his show on May 21st, in order to give way to the final night Colbert is on the air.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.