“I think it will be a nice statement if he does win,” Kimmel adds.

Jimmy Kimmel says voting for Stephen Colbert at the Emmys is the 'least we could do at this point'

Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel at the 2019 Emmys.Credit: FOX Image Collection via Getty

Jimmy Kimmel is advocating for his friend and fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert to finally nab the hard-fought-for Outstanding Talk Series win at the Emmys this year.

In a conversation with Variety shortly after CBS’ parent company, Paramount, announced that The Late Show will end in May amid its Trump administration-sanctioned $8 billion merger with Skydance, Kimmel explained to the outlet why he chose to use his show’s FYC billboard to declare his intention to vote for Colbert.

“Well, it seems like voting for Stephen is the least we could do at this point, and I think it will be a nice statement if he does win,” Kimmel said. “Obviously, awards don’t mean much, but every once in a while they do, and in this case, I think it will. So I fully expect Stephen to win the Emmy as I think people are very, very upset about what happened to him and his show.”

Jimmy Kimmel says voting for Stephen Colbert at the Emmys is the 'least we could do at this point'

Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’.Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Colbert’s show has been nominated nine years in a row but has never won in the category.

When asked why people should vote for Colbert’s show, Kimmel complimented the late-night host for being a “very ethical person.”

He continued, “He is the salt of the earth. He is a humble person and an extremely smart person. I hope that whatever he does next is even more powerful than what he’d been doing. And I think that’s very possible.”

The announcement of The Late Show‘s cancellation, which will end the franchise after it has aired for 33 years, provoked backlash from famous faces and fans alike.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren — who has been candid about her disapproval over Paramount settling the lawsuit brought by Trump over a 2024 60 Minutes interview with his contender in that year’s presidential election, Kamala Harris — is among the move’s most vocal detractors.

“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery,” the Massachusetts senator wrote on X on Thursday. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons. Watch and share his message.”

Kimmel expressed skepticism to Variety that Paramount’s decision was financial, even with reports that Colbert’s show was losing $40 million a year.

“The idea…is beyond nonsensical. These alleged insiders who supposedly analyze the budgets of the shows — I don’t know who they are, but I do know they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Kimmel asserted. “They seem to only be focused on advertising revenue and have completely forgotten about affiliate fees, which number in the hundreds of millions — probably in total billions — and you must allocate a certain percentage of those fees to late-night shows.”

Kimmel countered that it is “surprising how little the media seems to know about how the media works.”

“There’s just not a snowball’s chance in hell that that’s anywhere near accurate. Even that — that’s all you need to know. Suddenly, he’s losing $40 million a year? I will tell you, the first 10 years I did the show, they claimed we weren’t making any money — and we had five times as many viewers on ABC as we do now,” Kimmel said of his late-night show. “Who knows what’s true? All I know is they keep paying us —and that’s kind of all you need to know.”

Paramount Press Express | STEPHEN COLBERT TO HOST THE “69TH PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARDS” SUNDAY, SEPT. 17 ON CBS

‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ on May 15, 2025.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Many critics have questioned the timing of the announcement, pointing out that Colbert had recently criticized CBS’ corporate parent, Paramount Global, for agreeing to pay $16 million to President Donald Trump over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that aired on 60 Minutes in November. Trump has long disliked late-night hosts’ jokes about his administration and celebrated news of The Late Show‘s cancellation on social media, writing that Colbert’s “talent was even less than his ratings.”

He then praised Fox News late-night comedian Greg Gutfeld, who Trump wrote “is better than all of them combined, including the moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show,” referring to Jimmy Fallon.

For his part, Colbert has not backed down, continuing to openly criticize Trump and his administration throughout the president’s second term. Reacting to Trump’s post about his cancellation, Colbert said, “How dare you, sir. Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism: Go f— yourself.”