Piers Morgan and John Cleese have engaged in a heated exchange on social media following the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show. The dispute arose after Kimmel faced backlash for comments he made about the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at a university in Utah.
In a monologue, Kimmel accused the 'MAGA gang' of using Kirk's death to score political points and suggested the killer was 'one of them'. The remarks prompted outrage, with President Trump and FCC chairman Brendan Carr calling for the show to be taken off air. ABC subsequently suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely.
Morgan responded to the suspension by questioning why Kimmel was being heralded as a 'free speech martyr', stating that Kimmel had lied about the assassin's affiliation. US politician replied that Morgan had missed the point, prompting Cleese to comment that Morgan had made a fortune working for Rupert Murdoch.
Morgan fired back, calling Cleese a 'flaming old hypocrite' and noting that Cleese had also taken Murdoch's money. Cleese then started a separate thread, criticising Morgan for being proud to work with Murdoch, whom he accused of contaminating British journalism. Morgan retorted that Cleese's Monty Python castmates 'loathe' him and that he was more famous than Cleese.
Meanwhile, Kimmel's future on ABC remains uncertain. Reports suggest the show could return if Kimmel apologises, but his contract is due to expire soon. Trump praised the suspension and called for similar action against Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. Stephen Colbert has defended Kimmel, stating that 'with an autocrat, you cannot give an inch'.
