Who would have ever thought the
day would come when late-night comedians would have to adopt the courage of Russian dissidents to parody the President of the United States?
Of the three
network late-night hosts still standing -- Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers -- Colbert hit Trump the hardest last Thursday.
It was the first
night for the late-night shows to respond to the news that ABC was suspending Jimmy Kimmel and his show under pressure from the Trump administration.
Colbert, whose “Late Show” on CBS will end next spring, pulled no punches in an opening comedy bit that adapted a video from Disney’s animated movie classic “Beauty
and the Beast” to tear into the president.
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The video was an altered version of the song called “Be Our Guest,” sung by the late Jerry
Orbach for the animated candelabra character named Lumière.
In Colbert’s spoof of the song, the lyrics were altered and sung, I believe, by
Colbert himself with a comically exaggerated French accent. The video is posted above, and the lyrics are below.
Blistering blasts such as this one are an
almost daily occurrence on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which CBS announced earlier this year would end its run next May.
It has been
widely believed that like the suspension of Kimmel, the move came as the result of pressure from the Trump administration in return for the administration’s permission for the merger of Skydance
Media and Paramount Global to finally go forward.
But instead of being cowed, Colbert has demonstrated ever since the end of his show was announced that he
does not intend to go quietly.
Trump has been vocal about his disgust for all the network late-night shows,
including “Colbert” and NBC’s “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
It is
reasonable to assume that Fallon and Meyers -- along with their parent company -- are concerned about whether Trump’s hatchet man at the FCC, Chairman Brendan Carr, will turn his attention to
them with his threats of investigations and license refusals in retaliation for the two hosts’ monologue jokes.
Neither Fallon or Meyers came out
swinging in the same manner as Colbert last Thursday, but then again, they never attacked Trump with quite the same zeal as Colbert’s “Late Show.” Still, they did not remain silent
on the Kimmel suspension.
In his monologue on last Thursday’s “Tonight Show,” Fallon praised Kimmel as “a decent, funny and loving
guy” who Fallon considers a friend.
Fallon then launched into a bit that made fun of Trump’s lavish trip to the U.K., last week where he and
First Lady Melania were feted by King Charles and Queen Camilla.
In the bit, someone else’s voice was dubbed over Fallon’s at points where Fallon was going to
utter a joke about Trump. The dubbing made it look as if NBC was purposely censoring Fallon.
Later on “Late Night,” Meyer devoted a long segment to
lampooning Trump’s London trip, but ended the bit on a serious note leavened by humor.
“May I just say it is a privilege and an honor to call
Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way that it’s a privilege and an honor to do this show every night,” Meyer said.
“I wake up every day, I
count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech, and we’re gonna keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it, with enthusiasm and
integrity [sudden sound of flatulence]. …
“This is a pivotal moment in our democracy,” he said, “and we must all stand up for the
principles of free expression. There’s a reason free speech is in the very first amendment. It stands above all others.”
At no time did the three
late-night hosts devote any time or effort parsing or even acknowledging what Kimmel said about the murder of Charlie Kirk, for which Kimmel blamed the MAGA movement against all the evidence to the
contrary.
What Kimmel said was not satirical or comedic, per se. On the contrary, it was angry and inaccurate.
Still, even if the statement is stupid, the First Amendment protects his right to say it anyway, or at the very least, should protect him from retaliation by the President of the United
States.
His company, however, is not the U.S. government. Stupid statements can sometimes get people in trouble with the companies they work for when the
behavior interferes with business.
Kimmel’s suspension wasn’t personal. It was strictly business.
“Shut Your Trap” from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”:
“Shut your trap. Shut your trap. We’re
warning you to cut the crap.
Our dear leader’s skin is thinner than a sheet of plastic wrap.
Mum’s the word, have you heard? Kissing ass is what’s preferred!
Don’t insult our great dictator or he’ll hit
you with his turd! [photo of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is shown]
The new rule at ABC -- don’t make fun of Donny T! And don’t point out
that his neck is mostly flap …
So don’t you make a scene, or mention Jeff Epstein, or your show will be scrapped, shut your
trap!”