What To Know
- Jimmy Kimmel accepted a Peabody Award for his late-night show, reflecting on the importance of the right to satirize political leaders.
- Kimmel discussed his suspension in 2025, which followed his on-air comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
- He thanked supporters and listed several mocking nicknames he’d used for President Trump.
Jimmy Kimmel said he’d “never felt dumber” on Sunday night (May 31) as he stood alongside documentarians and hard-hitting news reporters to accept a Peabody Award for his late-night show.
“Making jokes about the President – in America – shouldn’t win you a prize. We have the right, guaranteed by the Constitution, to criticize and satirize our leaders,” the host said as he and sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez accepted the award on behalf of Jimmy Kimmel Live! “That is a right I took for granted for the first 57 years of my life, until last September, when the FCC delivered an unpleasant surprise.”
Kimmel was temporarily suspended in September 2025 after threats from FCC chair Brendan Carr, which led Nexstar, an affiliate network with dozens of local ABC channels, to announce it would preempt episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! due to comments he made on-air about the fallout of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. At the time, President Trump demanded ABC fire the host.
“Making jokes about the President in America shouldn’t win you a prize,” Jimmy Kimmel said while accepting a Peabody. The recognition follows FCC scrutiny over his criticism of President Trump and a brief suspension after comments he made following the murder of Charlie Kirk. pic.twitter.com/OX3IGz6XKl
— Abigail Velez (@abc7abigail) June 1, 2026
The comedian spoke about the fallout to his suspension, saying, per Variety, “I experienced something even more surprising. I watched firsthand as millions of people, even some from across the aisle, objected. They spoke up, they marched, they cancelled their subscriptions to Star Wars, because they refused to allow our freedoms to be bulldozed like the East Wing of the White House.”
“They sent a message that we do care,” Kimmel continued. “And that we will stand up. And that we will not stand by when comedy, and journalism, and dissent are censored, regulated and criminalized.”
Kimmel then recited just a few of the nicknames he’d thrown Trump’s way over the last few months. “I called our President ‘Fattyshack.’ And ‘Blob the Builder.’ And ‘Lie-ger Woods.’ And the ‘Hungry Hungry Hypocrite.’ ‘Our Fondling Father.’ ‘Mar-a-Lardo.’ ‘Nelson Tandela.’ And ‘Nostra-Dumbass.’ And somehow, we got a Peabody out of it… This country really has gone to s***,” he joked.
“We thank those who supported us during last year in September,” he added. “Thank you to the Peabody jurors for this adorable little trophy, and thank you to Donald Trump, our commander-in-thief, ‘Abrascam Lincoln,’ ‘Orange Julius Caesar,’ ‘Greedy McGolfy,’ ‘Dopey McGropey’ and ‘Pumpkin McPornhumper.’”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC