John Cleese and Piers Morgan clash over Jimmy Kimmel cancellation: “You flaming old hypocrite”

NewsTV
By:
On:
John Cleese and Piers Morgan clash over Jimmy Kimmel cancellation: “You flaming old hypocrite”

John Cleese and Piers Morgan have clashed on social media over the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the late night talk show had been pulled from the ABC Network, which is owned by Disney, over Kimmel’s comments following the murder of Charlie Kirk.

Advertisement

Right-wing activist Kirk was shot in the neck and killed at Utah Valley University campus on September 10, and, following the incident, Kimmel said that all signs pointed to Kirk’s shooter being a Trump supporter.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” he said in his Monday night monologue.

The subsequent fallout saw the show taken off-air indefinitely, a move that sparked a strong response from either side of the political spectrum.

Morgan reacted to the news by posting on X on Tuesday (September 16): “Jimmy Kimmel lied about Charlie Kirk’s assassin being MAGA, this caused understandable outrage all over America, prompted TV station owners to say they wouldn’t air him, and he’s now been suspended by his employers. Why is he being heralded as some kind of free speech martyr?”

Recommended

US politician Joe Walsh replied to the post, arguing that Morgan had “missed the point”, prompting Monty Python and Fawlty Towers legend Cleese to write: “This from Piers Morgan. Who has made a fortune working for Rupert Murdoch.”

Morgan responded to Cleese by posting: “You took Rupert’s money too, you flaming old hypocrite. I’m just proud of it.”

Advertisement

Hostilities continued on Wednesday, with Cleese writing: “I see Piers Morgan says he’s proud to have worked with Rupert Murdoch, the man who had done more to contaminate Britain’s journalism than anyone else. Tells us all we need to know about Piers, whose only talent is associating himself with people much better known than himself.”

Morgan replied with three laughing emojis, writing: “a) Rupert’s much nicer than you.. even your fellow Pythons loathe you. b) I’m way more famous than you, which is why I have nearly twice as many followers.”

It is now believed that Kimmel’s business and legal representatives are in discussions with Disney and ABC executives in the hope of reaching a compromise that would allow for the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

While the move to cancel the show has been celebrated by President Trump, with whom the host has had a long-running feud, many in the entertainment industry have spoken out against the suspension. Almost all of Hollywood’s prominent creative guilds have condemned the decision, while fellow late-night legends Stephen Colbert and David Letterman have also spoken out, voicing concerns over free speech.

Comedian and podcaster Marc Maron also criticised the suspension, saying on Instagram: “This is government censorship. This is the Trump administration coming after people who speak out against him.”

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.