From repeatedly questioning the decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to accusing executives of caving to political pressure, Jimmy Kimmel has made CBS a frequent target of his monologues. On Wednesday night, the ABC host made it clear he's not done yet.
During his monologue, Kimmel blasted the network over veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley's sudden exit from the iconic newsmagazine program. The late-night host portrayed Pelley as someone who was punished for defending the standards that helped make 60 Minutes one of the most respected programs in television history.
Kimmel called the executives behind the decision "Trump suck-ups." According to Kimmel, Pelley reached a breaking point after a series of management changes that have sparked concern among his fellow journalists and some media commentators. Kimmel continued, saying CBS responded by bringing in "clowns" to run 60 Minutes.
Kimmel reserved particular attention for filmmaker and former tech journalist Nick Bilton, who was hired to replace Tanya Simon as executive producer. Bilton is "a guy who has no experience in TV news," Kimmel claimed, using the hire as an example of what he sees as the network's changing priorities.
The ABC host then recounted reports that Pelley openly challenged CBS News boss Bari Weiss during a staff meeting on Monday, where he allegedly accused her of "murdering" 60 Minutes. Kimmel suggested the confrontation ultimately led to Pelley's dismissal.
With Pelley gone, Kimmel joked that CBS might as well replace 60 Minutes altogether with "new episodes of Reporters Unleashed," a sarcastic jab at how the network filled the timeslot left behind by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Kimmel eventually connected the story to President Donald Trump. The host noted that Trump publicly celebrated Pelley's departure and mocked the president's response. "The president, of course, applauded this cowardly decision," Kimmel said. "He said Scott Pelley is part of a gang of crooked stupid people different from the gang of crooked stupid people he's a part of."
The comments represented another escalation in Kimmel's increasingly aggressive criticism of CBS and its corporate leadership. In recent months, the comedian has repeatedly questioned decisions made by Paramount and network executives, particularly concerns about political influence over the major media organization.
While the Pelley controversy centers on a news program rather than a late-night show, it touches on many of the same concerns Kimmel has been raising since CBS canceled The Late Show. In the weeks following that announcement, Kimmel repeatedly defended Stephen Colbert and accused CBS and Paramount of allowing outside pressures to kick Colbert off the air.
Most notably, Kimmel used Colbert's finale to urge viewers to boycott CBS, arguing that audiences should not reward a network he believes has compromised its independence. That helps explain why the Pelley story resonated so strongly with him. From Kimmel's perspective, the departure of a veteran journalist after publicly criticizing management looks a lot like what happened to his fellow late-night host.
Kimmel recently described late-night TV as being "poisoned" by politicians and corporate interests. Even though 60 Minutes occupies a very different corner of television than The Late Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the circumstances surrounding Pelley's exit are likely to reinforce Kimmel's beliefs about his genre.
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