Stephen Colbert is proud of Jimmy Kimmel.
On the Wednesday, September 24 episode of CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which got cancelled after 10 seasons in July of this year, the 61-year-old American comedian and writer admitted he is over the moon knowing that Kimmel is back on TV after a brief cancellation of his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
In an Instagram clip which started with the words “Free speech prevails” written over it, Colbert said he was “in a good mood.”
Shedding light on Kimmel’s return to his show on Tuesday night, September 23, he voiced his thoughts by quipping, "Last night our friend Jimmy Kimmel returned to television, just so proud of him! So proud to know that man.”
The Despicable Me 4 star gushed, "Jimmy spoke beautifully about free speech and unity, he made great jokes, showed his deep emotions, got huge ratings.”
Colbert also joked that the show’s return turned out to be so exceptional that Disney has proclaimed to release the live-action version of Guillermo & Stitch next summer, a reference to Kimmel’s sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, and the movie Lilo & Stitch.
This comes after Disney’s Monday, September 22 decision to air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, September 23, just a week later, the show was put on an indefinite hiatus on September 17 following the 57-year-old television host and comedian’s comments about the death of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing political commentator.
Disney, who owns ABC, released a statement on Monday, stating, "Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country."
"It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday," the statement concluded.