Howard Stern never backs off from sharing his opinion, and on Monday morning September 22nd, the SiriusXM host broke his silence on what he called a troubling situation that is near and dear to his heart for several reasons: the suspension of his friend Jimmy Kimmel from ABC over his Charlie Kirk remarks.
Howard Stern shares his thoughts
Stern opened Monday’s show by breaking his recent vow not to talk about politics after speaking his mind during the most recent presidential election, saying, “I can no longer keep my mouth shut.”
“I feel obligated to say something, because s–t’s getting outta control,” said Stern, who has famously been a free speech advocate for more than half a century amid his own battles with censorship and government entities threatening to curtail his right to speak freely on the airwaves.
“This involves the network ABC. They did something really dumb and f-kin’ horrible,” Stern added, before going into a classic fake-out bit complaining about the changes to the network’s dating show The Bachelor.
“Everyone knows what happened with Jimmy Kimmel. The bottom line is you really don’t need my voice to know that something horrible happened at ABC,” Stern stated about the network’s decision to temporarily suspend Kimmel’s show from the air.
Stern had said that he considers Kimmel one of his closest showbiz friends and who frequently has the comedian on his SiriusXM show, said on a personal level, the network’s decision was painful to him because he loves Kimmel and wife Molly McNearney, whom he called “dear dear friends.”
“I believe Jimmy is such a big talent, and quite frankly so is his wife. They’re two of the funniest people I have ever met,” Stern said, noting he’s so enamored with the couple’s comedic chops that he “shuts down” around them so as not to try to compete with their quick wit. Noting that many people have written to him asking “what should we do?,” Stern said he is doing something.
“I feel all of this is a smokescreen to stop talking about what’s really going on. We got a problem with inflation, gas prices, groceries, there’s all kinds of problems,” said Stern, who said he’s spoken to Kimmel but did not ask if the suspension — which was applauded by President Trump, who also encouraged NBC to do the same to Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers — is permanent or if the veteran late nighter fears he might get fired.
“I just know when the government begins to interfere… when the government says, ‘I’m not pleased with you, so we’re going to orchestrate a way to silence you’ it’s the wrong direction for the country. It isn’t good, and I should know.” Stern then recalled that in the 1990s the Federal Communications Commission put pressure on the shock jock’s then-parent company, Infinity Broadcasting, by threatening to slow down its planned merger with Viacom over its objections to the content of Stern’s notoriously envelope-pushing morning show.
Stern has also faced some criticism from conservative fans on X for never addressing Charlie Kirk’s death or paying tribute, including during this segment, yet he ranted about his friend Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension over remarks about Kirk. Conservative fans feel some sort of mention or condemnation would be a proper tribute in the context of voicing his opinion about Kimmel.
Howard Stern “I’m not leading any boycott here” “I’m canceling Disney+” This A$$HOLE has yet to mention the name Charlie Kirk since the assassination but is eulogizing The Jimmy Kimmel Show this morning @ReeseOnRadio @TheDemocrats @GOP pic.twitter.com/YTvXqCfggS
— Mark From West Hartford (@MarkFrom34375) September 22, 2025
https://x.com/GLShoulders2/status/1970148138465063079
https://x.com/jesset1878/status/1970124341489643946
https://x.com/PastaKing999/status/1970129340370407848
