Stephen Colbert Celebrates Late-Night ‘Martyr’ Status ‘Once More’ as Jimmy Kimmel Returns

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert celebrated that he was “once again” the “only martyr in late night” as he cheered Disney’s reinstatement of his ABC rival Jimmy Kimmel.

Kimmel’s show had been abruptly and “indefinitely” pulled last week after backlash over remarks made about MAGA’s response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. On Monday, however, Disney announced that Kimmel’s show would return.

Kicking off his Monday night monologue, the host began: “It’s always nice to start the show with some good news. Well, just a few hours before we taped this broadcast, we got word that our long national late-nightmare is over because Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to air on ABC tomorrow, Tuesday night.”

“Come on!” he shouted, as the crowd erupted.

He continued: “This is wonderful news for my dear friend Jimmy and his amazing staff. They continue their show. You know, I’m so happy for them.”

“Plus, now that Jimmy’s not being canceled, I get to enjoy this again,” Colbert joked, raising his Emmy award, jabbing: “Once more, I am the only martyr in late night.”

With Disney’s reverse decision on Kimmel, Colbert didn’t miss a chance to land a dig at his own network: “Wait. Unless, CBS, you want to announce anything? Huh? Still no? Right, because of the money thing, I forgot.”

The host’s own tenure is set to expire in May 2026. The cancellation announcement, which coincided with Paramount’s bid for Trump administration approval to merge with Skydance Media, drew backlash at the time, but CBS insisted the decision was “purely financial.”

Watch above via CBS.