"Free speech prevails" - Stephen Colbert says he is 'proud' of fellow late night host Jimmy Kimmel's 'emotional' monologue

In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's widely reported comeback to television after a week-long suspension, Stephen Colbert has shown his support for his fellow late-night presenter. The 56-year-old Kimmel began his September 23, 2025, episode with a monologue about censorship, unity, and political tensions in the United States. Stephen Colbert praised his return, said he was proud of Jimmy Kimmel and even shared on Instagram:

"Free speech prevails."

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Stephen Colbert's response: "Proud to know that man."

After Jimmy Kimmel's episode, Stephen Colbert, 61, devoted a part of his monologue to praising Kimmel's performance. He said:

"Last night our friend Jimmy Kimmel returned to television, just so proud of him! So proud to know that man."

He added:

"Jimmy spoke beautifully about free speech and unity, he made great jokes, showed his deep emotions, got huge ratings."

Colbert's team took to Instagram and shared a little video where "Free speech prevails" was written at the start. Colbert also mentioned that he was "in a good mood."

Stephen Colbert has always been vocal in his support of free speech and frequently uses his platform to highlight issues such as corporate censorship, government overreach, and press freedom.

Referencing Kimmel's sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, and the film Lilo & Stitch, Stephen Colbert joked that the return was so successful that Disney announced next summer that it would release the live-action version of Guillermo & Stitch.

The comedian and recent Emmy winner also talked about how well the YouTube clip of Kimmel's monologue, in which he delivered a speech criticizing President Donald Trump and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for allegedly threatening remarks, performed, stating at the time that it was on track to break Kimmel's personal YouTube record with 12 million views in 12 hours. The video has since received over 19 million plays.

Stephen Colbert joked that it was just 5 billion views behind the video clip of a green alien dancing to "Dame Tu Cosita" by El Chombo, which also featured Cutty Ranks:

"Congrats Jimmy! That's pretty rare. That puts you just five billion views behind El Chombo's song with the dancing alien that sings in Spanish."

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Jimmy Kimmel's suspension and reinstatement

After making comments on the passing of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk that ABC deemed "inappropriate," Kimmel was suspended on September 17. The decision to temporarily suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken by Disney, which was the network's parent company, to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation.”

However, there were many who allegedly criticized Disney executives for what they saw as an overreach. Within a week, the program was back on the air following "thoughtful conversations" with Jimmy. The statement said:

"Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country."

It continued:

"It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday."

When he returned, Kimmel poked fire at the issue head-on, starting with montage of news footage showing reporters and commentators talking about Kimmel's suspension and comeback. The camera then panned to him and Guillermo in goofy costumes, accepting that they need to change for the big show. He then thanked everyone and then humorously began his monologue on September 23 with:

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted."

Then he went on to deliver his speech, where he called out President Trump and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Kimmel's monologue went viral and had 19 million views on YouTube within hours of its broadcast. Jimmy Kimmel Live! had one of its best performances in years, pulling 6.26 million people overall according to Nielsen overnight ratings.

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Political ripple effects

Kimmel's suspension dispute also flared in the political sphere. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) made an appearance on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show and spoke about the First Amendment rights. Murphy spoke about how the Republican Party wants to "destroy government" as he spoke about the rise in health care premiums, Trump's witch-hunt operation, and Jimmy Kimmel's suspension to Stephen Colbert. Speaking about Jimmy, he said:

“In the wake of that cancellation, this country decided to stand up, okay, decided to say, enough is enough, hit that cancel button on their Disney subscription enough that Disney changed their mind.”

He continued:

“This was a moment of real crisis, but it was a moment where the country decided that it's not too late. This nation has decided we are not going to be afraid of a would-be dictator, that we still have power, commercial power and political power, and I think it's evidence of what is to come.”

However, President Trump adopted a quite different position. He wrote on his Truth Social:

“Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.”

He added:

“He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”

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Jimmy Kimmel is back with a bang, pulling 6.26 million people. He and Stephen Colbert continue to use their platform to remind people about free speech.

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