David Letterman has been in contact with Jimmy Kimmel since the late-night host was pulled off the air indefinitely.
“I have heard from Jimmy,” the “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” host confirmed at Thursday’s Atlantic Festival in New York City, per the Daily Mail.
The 78-year-old noted that the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host, 57, had been “nice enough to text … this morning.”
As for what Kimmel’s message conveyed, Letterman said, “He’s sitting up in bed taking nourishment. He’s gonna be fine.”
Letterman added, “It’s ridiculous. You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.”
Kimmel, notably, has not issued a public statement since an ABC spokesperson told Page Six on Wednesday that the long-running show would be “pre-empted indefinitely.”
The shocking move came after Kimmel, who began hosting his eponymous show in 2003, delivered a monologue about Charlie Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination and President Trump’s reaction.
TV station conglomerate Nexstar Media told ABC it “strongly object[ed]” to Kimmel’s comments, according to Variety.
In the quotes in question, the Emmy nominee claimed “the MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel also poked fun at a clip of Trump, 79, being asked how he was holding up after Kirk’s death and saying “very good” — before immediately drawing attention to the White House’s ballroom construction.
“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend,” Kimmel quipped. “This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Sinclair, the media company that operates as the largest ABC affiliate group, requested Kimmel make a “direct apology” to Kirk’s family, as well as a “meaningful personal donation.”
The Daily Mail reported Thursday that Kimmel is “pissed” over the scandal and allegedly wishes to “break his relationship with ABC forever.”
We hear that Kimmel, who was photographed Thursday smirking and visiting his lawyer’s office, had only months left in his deal with Disney before his monologue and was set to start negotiations later this year.
In addition to Letterman, who was a late-night host from 1982 to 2015, Kimmel’s competitors have vehemently defended him.
“He’s a decent, funny, and loving guy. I hope he comes back,” Jimmy Fallon told viewers on Thursday.
Seth Meyers, for his part, said, “This is a big moment in our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression.”
Trump named both “Saturday Night Live” alumni in a recent Truth Social post celebrating Kimmel being pulled off the air.
“That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” the Commander in Chief wrote. “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC.”
In July, he called for Kimmel to “go … next” after Stephen Colbert confirmed that “The Late Show” franchise is ending in May after 33 years.
