Greg Gutfeld mocks Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, calls their careers 'entertainment welfare' amid TV shakeups

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Fox News host Greg Gutfeld did not hold back during a Saturday, November 8, 2025, sit-down interview with The New York Times. Speaking with reporter David Marchese, the late-night star claimed that fellow hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert only remained on television because they pleased corporate bosses who favored their anti-Trump stance.

“The only reason why they were around for so long, despite the fact that their numbers were dropping, was the fact that they toed the line,” Gutfeld told Marchese. He labeled their long-running careers as a kind of “entertainment welfare,” suggesting that the two comedians were kept afloat by networks that prioritized politics over performance.

Greg Gutfeld says Kimmel and Colbert lost touch with entertainment

In the wide-ranging conversation, Gutfeld claimed that both Kimmel’s and Colbert’s shows stopped connecting with audiences long ago. “I didn’t know anybody — and I’m counting my many liberal friends — who watched them,” he said. “It wasn’t entertainment anymore. It was more like a therapy session for people upset at the world.”

The remarks gained traction as both late-night hosts face professional turbulence. Kimmel was suspended earlier this fall, while Colbert’s CBS show was abruptly canceled after years of declining ratings. Gutfeld mocked their downfall, saying, “Why did it take so long? I had crushed them like bugs, David. I’d crushed them and thrown them into the wind, and they were still here.”

Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension sparks backlash amid Charlie Kirk controversy

Kimmel’s suspension, which lasted from September 17 to 22, followed remarks he made during a September 15 broadcast. The comedian suggested that the man who murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk was a Trump supporter, a claim later contradicted by police reports. The network quickly halted his show after the comment went viral.

“The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel had said during his monologue. The fallout from that segment prompted internal reviews and public debate over political bias in late-night comedy.

Stephen Colbert’s Trump jokes resurface amid cancellation

Stephen Colbert, who long positioned himself as a cultural counterpoint to Donald Trump, also faced renewed scrutiny after his show’s cancellation. Gutfeld referred to Colbert’s career as “a long-running anti-Trump monologue disguised as comedy.”

The CBS host previously drew backlash in 2017 when he joked that Trump’s mouth “was being used as Vladimir Putin’s c*ck holster.” While the FCC took no action, the remark became emblematic of Colbert’s sharply partisan tone.

When Marchese asked if political or corporate maneuvering played a role in the hosts’ professional troubles, Gutfeld dismissed the theory. “There’s never been anybody who’s really folded because of Trump saying, ‘You suck,’” he said. “Was it extra noise in the story? Probably. But I honestly think the grumbling was already there.”

Greg Gutfeld rises amid shifting late-night landscape

The shake-ups come as Greg Gutfeld’s own late-night program 'Gutfeld!' continues to dominate ratings. The Fox News host has positioned himself as a leading figure in the new wave of conservative-leaning satire, often contrasting his success with the decline of traditional late-night formats.