US comedian and TV host Conan O’Brien has said the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! should "disturb everyone on the right, left, and centre".
US network ABC pulled the show from schedules on Wednesday after Kimmel’s comments about the fatal shooting of conservative activist and Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk.
The president suggested on Friday that if any TV networks only give him bad press "maybe their licence should be taken away".
O’Brien, 62, who hosted his eponymous talk show Conan from 2010 to 2021, said in an Instagram post: "The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel and the promise to silence other Late Night hosts for criticising the administration should disturb everyone on the right, left, and centre.
"It’s wrong and anyone with a conscience knows it’s wrong."
In an address to the audience during his show, Kimmel said the "Maga gang are desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them".
On his own podcast, US senator Ted Cruz said he was "thrilled" about the suspension but also said that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr’s threat to ABC over Kimmel’s comments was "dangerous as hell".
Carr told Fox News on Thursday the FCC was "going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest" and added: "If broadcasters don’t like that simple solution, they can turn their licence in to the FCC."
US comedian Jon Stewart hosted a special edition of The Daily Show on Thursday, portraying what he described as a "patriotically obedient host" and satirically admonishing his studio audience for booing clips of Mr Trump.
Late Night With Seth Meyers followed a similar track on NBC, with the host telling his audience: "The (Trump) administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech… completely unrelated, I just want to say before we get started here that I’ve always admired and respected Mr Trump."
Stephen Colbert was more direct in his criticism as he hosted Thursday’s episode of The Late Show, which was preceded by a social media post from the show’s official Instagram account which stated: "The Late Show stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his staff."
Meanwhile, The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon said: "To be honest with you all, I don’t know what’s going on — no one does.
"But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he is a decent, funny and loving guy. And I hope he comes back."
His monologue also took a comedic angle, with an announcer censoring several of the punchlines to his jokes about Mr Trump.
Former US president Barack Obama suggested the issue was "precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent".
Mr Kirk, who was a prominent political commentator in the US and ally of the president, was shot dead at a Utah Valley University event on 10 September.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged on Tuesday and could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Mr Kirk.
Source: Press Association
