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The fallout continues after ABC benched Jimmy Kimmel from late-night TV.
Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are leading a list of 400 Hollywood stars teaming up to protest the indefinite suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
The A-listers are signing a letter from the ACLU blasting the network’s decision, calling it “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.” The decision comes after Kimmel’s controversial comments on Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer.
Martin Short, Regina King, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jamie Lee Curtis are just a few of the other celebrities who have also signed the ACLU letter.
Jimmy’s good friend Howard Stern also spoke out this morning, revealing he had spoken to Kimmel.
Howard shared, “I just asked him how he was doing personally. I just know when the government begins to interfere, when the government says, ‘I’m not pleased with you, so we’re going to orchestrate a way to silence you,’ it’s the wrong direction for our country.”
On “Real Time,” Bill Maher let his jokes do the talking, saying, “Let me 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 View’s” panel addressed Kimmel’s suspension, too, after remaining silent late last week, with Sunny Hostin telling the audience, “Our founders drafted the First Amendment specifically to protect the rights of citizens to criticize the government. Thomas Jefferson in particular said the citizens must be able to criticize public officials because quote, ‘They will try to impose their own opinions and modes of thinking on others.’ End quote. And the Supreme Court, time and time again, has reinforced its support for the law of the land, the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.”
John Oliver defended Jimmy, saying on “Last Week Tonight,” “Many struggle to pick the offensive line out of his monologue, as YouTube is filled with comments under the video like, ‘I’m still waiting for the offensive part. What did he say that got him fired?’”
Days before Jimmy was suspended, “Extra” caught up with John at the Emmys. He talked about how to be funny and topical at the same time, saying, “It’s juggling. I think hopefully the humor helps the politics go down a little easier and we just try and show people things they haven’t seen before.”
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