Kimmel slams – Jimmy Kimmel used Wednesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” monologue to attack CBS News executives as “Trump suck-ups” after Scott Pelley’s termination from “60 Minutes,” calling the move a consequence of standing for “truth and integrity” and pointing to sharp in-hou
Jimmy Kimmel didn’t ease into it—he went straight for CBS News on Wednesday night, during his monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Scott Pelley was terminated from “60 Minutes.”
Kimmel framed the decision as retaliation for a journalist who refused to fold when others did. “Last night. the Trump suck-ups at CBS fired a great and deeply respected journalist. Scott Pelley. from his job at ’60 Minutes. ’ because he stood up for truth and integrity at a show that’s been the gold-standard for broadcast journalism for 57 years. ” he said.
He then zeroed in on the specific names and personnel changes he said followed in the wake of Pelley’s ousting. Kimmel added that Pelley had “enough” after “the clowns. who now run that show in the CBS News division. ” fired reporter Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. along with executive producer Tanya Simon—before replacing Simon with a new executive producer he said has “no experience in TV news.”.
Kimmel’s version of the timeline turned on Pelley’s own words. “And that was it for Scott Pelley. He said, ‘The collapse of values at the top has become untenable.’ And he let him have it in a staff meeting, right to the new guy’s face. So, last night they fired him.”
The comedian also leaned into the absurdity of what comes next, joking that “60 Minutes” would be “replaced by new episodes of ‘Reporters Unleashed,’” a jab at CBS canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and replacing it with Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed.”
Kimmel’s monologue turned sharper when he addressed President Donald Trump, pointing to Trump’s reaction to Pelley’s firing. Kimmel said Trump applauded the move. claiming Pelley was “part of a gang of crooked stupid people.” He then predicted a tense moment ahead: “That should make for an interesting situation at the White House correspondents dinner which is apparently back on.”.
The broader dispute around Pelley’s exit was already simmering inside CBS. Pelley had been terminated from “60 Minutes” after clashing with new executive producer Nick Bilton on Monday. where he accused editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the program. Since then, Pelley and Weiss have offered notably different accounts of how the firing unfolded.
Weiss, the CBS News editor-in-chief, defended the decision and said Pelley broke a foundation of “trust and mutual respect” when he attacked her and Bilton during the staff-wide meeting. She also said she tried to “engage with [Pelley] and to find a way back.”
Pelley disputed that framing, criticizing Weiss’ summary of what happened and saying, “No CBS executive, at any time, suggested ‘a way back.’ To say so now is disingenuous. And they know it.”
For viewers, the argument is now playing out on two stages at once—inside CBS News, and on late-night television—after Kimmel’s decision to call out what he sees as loyalty to political power over journalistic standards. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.
Jimmy Kimmel Scott Pelley 60 Minutes CBS News Nick Bilton Bari Weiss Sharyn Alfonsi Cecilia Vega Tanya Simon White House Correspondents Dinner Donald Trump Late Show With Stephen Colbert Comics Unleashed Reporters Unleashed