John Oliver Rips 'Cowards' Who Suspended Jimmy Kimmel With Perfect 'Bully' Analogy

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver called out the companies involved in yanking Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air, saying that history would “remember the cowards who definitely knew better but still let things happen" by giving in to a bully.

Last week, President Donald Trump saw an opening to get late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air and successfully pressured ABC to do so following comments Kimmel made about the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.

ABC's decision to suspend Kimmel's program came after Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), hinted his agency could take action against ABC over comments the host made during last Monday’s broadcast.

Oliver dedicated much of his segment to the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, noting that “Carr leaned on broadcasters to take down Kimmel" in what he described as "a pretty clear case of the government pressuring companies to censor speech.”

He also addressed Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney—which owns ABC—and condemned his and the company's cowardice on the matter of Kimmel, observing that what Disney did was not unlike giving a bully your lunch money:

“Anyway, one day, the history of the time we’re living through is going to be written, and when it is, I’m not sure it’s those in this administration who are even going to come off the worst. Now don’t get me wrong, they’re going to come off terribly."

"But history’s also going to remember the cowards who definitely knew better, but still let things happen, whether it was for money, convenience or just comfort."

"And I know, this is something of a tough sell, and it can be a bit of anathema to risk-averse business leaders, but I will say this: If we’ve learned nothing else from this administration’s second term so far, and I don’t think we have, is that giving the bully your lunch money doesn’t make him go away, it just makes him come back hungrier each time."

"They are never going to stop.”

You can hear what Oliver said in the video below.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Many felt he was right on the money.

ABC announced Kimmel's show would return Tuesday, September 24, following internal discussions with Disney, which saw a torrent of subscriber cancellations in response to Kimmel's suspension.

A source who spoke to CNN said that Kimmel is planning to address the controversy in his opening monologue. Over the past week, organized protests targeted Disney’s offices in New York and Burbank, California, as well as the Hollywood theater where Kimmel’s show is taped.

Sinclair, the conservative-owned organization that owns many local television stations including ABC affiliates, said it will air news programming during Kimmel's slot instead, noting that its own discussions with ABC are "ongoing."