Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno expressed his support for Jimmy Kimmel after ABC suspended his late night show indefinitely this week.
“I’m on Jimmy Kimmel’s side on that one,” Leno said at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for Chris Wallace on Thursday. “I’m a huge proponent of free speech… I think Jimmy will land on his feet. He’s a talented guy, He’s funny.”
Kimmel was taken off the air on Wednesday after the network and affiliate station owners deemed his comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer, implying he was MAGA, to be unsuitable for air.
“You don’t get canceled saying popular things,” Leno said. “Usually, it’s the truth that winds up getting canceled, so we’ll see what happens.”
“It’s a comedian talking. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it,” he added. “That’s the market. Let the people decide. If people like a show, it stays on the air.”
Leno and Kimmel have not always been on the same team. In 2010, Kimmel criticized Leno’s handling of the “Tonight Show” after it was taken back from Conan O’Brien. O’Brien at the time had rejected a plan by NBC to move the “Tonight Show” to a later time slot to make room for a new Leno talk show. The comedians reconciled their differences after their longtime feud when Kimmel’s newborn son underwent heart surgery in 2017.
Leno joins a slew of late night hosts who have come to Kimmel’s defense since his suspension. Other former and current late night hosts have made similar statements, including Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and David Letterman.
