Jimmy Kimmel Tells Emmy Voters to Support Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’

Jimmy Kimmel is throwing his support behind Stephen Colbert.

More than a week after it was announced that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will be ending next year, Kimmel erected a billboard in Los Angeles asking Emmy voters to join him in “voting for Stephen.”

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is nominated for Outstanding Talk Show, competing against “The Daily Show” and Kimmel’s own “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

The billboard is located at a very busy intersection in West Hollywood, near many entertainment industry offices.

After news of “The Late Show’s” cancellation, Colbert got support from Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Andy Cohen, and Anderson Cooper.

The group, along with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Weird Al Yankovic, helped parody the Coldplay kiss cam controversy while taking a dig at President Donald Trump and CBS’ parent company, Paramount. 

Colbert addressed the cancellation, saying, “Over the weekend, it sunk in they are killing off our show. They made one mistake… They left me alive. And now for the next 10 months, the gloves are off. I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really feel about Donald Trump,” quipping, “I don’t care for him. Doesn’t have the skill set to be president. Not a good fit, that’s all.”

Earlier this month, CBS claimed the show was being canceled because as a “financial decision.”

In a statement, CBS said, “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise in May of 2026. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television. This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Colbert addressed the cancellation during a taping of the show.

He told the audience, “Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending our show in May... It’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS.”

Amid all the boos from the crowd, he went on, “It’s not just the end of our show but it’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away. And I do want to say... that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I’m so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And, of course, I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night."

He went on to say he was “extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here.” 

“I’ve had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years. It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it. It’s a job that I’m looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months.”