Bill Maher Slams ABC Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension, Recalls His Own Firing From the Network

Bill Maher turned his monologue into a moment of solidarity this week, coming to Jimmy Kimmel’s defense after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!—a decision Maher couldn’t help but link to his own firing from the same network 24 years ago.

“I know why you’re happy tonight: I’m still on,” Maher opened to cheers. “Talk show hosts are going down like Blockbusters in the ’90s … Let me just tell you something, I am not intimidated by the FCC, and if President Trump is watching, I have one thing to say to you: Have you lost weight? You look terrific.”

The Real Time host reminded viewers of the déjà vu. “It was 24 years to the day that I made comments on ABC that got me canceled from that network, and Jimmy Kimmel took my slot at Politically Incorrect. I got canceled before cancel even had a culture.”

(Back in 2001, Maher lost his late-night perch after controversial post-9/11 comments led advertisers and affiliates to flee; ABC filled the slot with Kimmel, who has remained in the network’s late-night lineup ever since.)

Kimmel’s current suspension followed his jab at Donald Trump’s response to the killing of right-wing figure Charlie Kirk, a quip that set off FCC threats, affiliate pullouts, and political backlash. Nexstar pulled the show “for the foreseeable future,” while Sinclair demanded an apology to Kirk’s family and a donation to Turning Point USA. In the meantime, Hollywood unions, Democratic lawmakers, and fellow late-night hosts have blasted the move as corporate cowardice.

Maher, never one to hold back, put it plainly: “This sh*t ain’t new; it’s worse … ABC stands for Always Be Caving. So, Jimmy, pal, I am with you, I support you, and on the bright side, you don’t have to pretend anymore that you like Disneyland.”

He also ribbed corporate media for rolling over: “Good Morning America has changed its name to add the postscript ‘even the scum who didn’t vote for Trump.’ Next year’s Golden Bachelor will be Rudy Giuliani. Even Wolf Blitzer will be reporting from ‘The Capitulation Room.’”

Though Maher admitted he didn’t think Kimmel’s joke was “exactly right,” he insisted it shouldn’t cost him his job: “It is a fool’s errand to try to say that these nuts who do these things are any ‘team’ … This kid doesn’t belong in either party, he belongs in a straitjacket.”

To cap it off, Maher spoke directly to his fellow host: “Pal, you did a great, funny show for two decades; you should be proud of that. If this firing goes for you the way it did for me, you’ll get 23 years on a better network.”