Brian Stelter has always had a flair for the absurd, but his latest ode to Jimmy Kimmel reads like satire. Following Kimmel’s rocky return to late night after a brief suspension, Stelter gushed that the host is “at the peak of his powers now,” comparing him to Obi-Wan Kenobi and casting him as a martyr who will fight for free speech with the full backing of Disney and ABC.
Yes, you read that right: Jimmy Kimmel, a multimillionaire comedian protected by one of the largest corporate media machines in the world, is now the brave warrior for free expression in Stelter’s eyes.
Jimmy Kimmel is at the peak of his powers right now — with ABC very publicly backing him up by resuming his show pic.twitter.com/OUDpMlufQJ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 23, 2025
There’s just one small problem. Out here in the real world, actual Americans are being killed for exercising free speech. Just two weeks ago, Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University while engaging students in debate. His killer, according to authorities, was motivated by leftist ideology. A man died for daring to speak conservative truths in a public forum.
My main takeaway from last night: Kimmel is not going to temper his criticism of the president or his admin. He is going to use his late-night platform to call out free speech threats. pic.twitter.com/rl3It0clVI
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 24, 2025
And yet Stelter’s “free speech hero” is Kimmel, who was briefly benched by Disney not for speaking truth to power, but for slandering conservatives and falsely tying Kirk’s assassin to the “MAGA gang.” That wasn’t courage. That was opportunism—and it backfired.
If anyone in the world knows when somebody’s at ‘peak power,’ It’s Brian. pic.twitter.com/7XN3yKKEco
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) September 23, 2025
In fact, Kimmel’s “comeback” wasn’t even fully distributed. Sinclair and Nexstar, which control 66 ABC affiliates, refused to air new episodes, preempting him with news programming. So much for Stelter’s glowing prediction of “millions of viewers” hanging on every word.
“Peak of his powers” 220,000 18-49 year olds, the target audience for advertisers. Gunsmoke reruns have more viewers. From Forbes. pic.twitter.com/xjDcJH0p1z
— Marcus Notrealius (@TheLieKeeper) September 23, 2025
The irony is staggering. Kimmel minimizes an assassination, smears conservatives, and then cries on air when the backlash threatens his career. Stelter, rather than confronting those failures, wraps him in Jedi robes and declares him a martyr. Meanwhile, the family and friends of Charlie Kirk are mourning a man who actually paid the ultimate price for exercising free speech.
