NBCFollowing the Jimmy Kimmel controversy, a new late night chat show scandal has unfolded. Donald Trump is now demanding that NBC fire Seth Meyers after a recent segment on the Epstein Files went viral – and FCC chairman Brendan Carr has reposted the president’s demand.
For the uninitiated, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was temporarily suspended in September after he slammed Trump’s response to Charlie Kirk’s death, which drew criticism from Carr. The move sparked a heated debate about freedom of speech, with Kimmel’s show reinstated a week later.
However, Meyers is now in the firing line, with Trump writing on Truth Social on Saturday (November 15), “NBC’s Seth Meyers is suffering from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage, likely due to the fact that his ‘show’ is a Ratings DISASTER.”
He went on to say, “Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY,” with Carr – chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, which handles broadcasting licenses in the US – sharing the post on his X/Twitter page the following day.
Is Seth Meyers getting fired?
Creative CommonsRight now, the answer appears to be no. Despite the noise generated by Trump’s Truth Social post and Carr’s decision to amplify it, there is no credible indication that NBC is preparing to remove Meyers from its schedule.
The host remains under a long-term contract with NBC Universal, having renewed the deal in 2024 for Late Night with Seth Meyers to run through 2028. There are currently no plans to tear up the contract, which would be costly and messy.
Related
Industry reports also stress that NBC has made no moves toward sidelining him, renegotiating his deal, or replacing him. If his contract did come to a close with no renewal, it would most likely be down to ratings rather than from any political pressure.
Additionally, NBC will have noticed the firestorm that followed the Kimmel suspension, which led to widespread calls to boycott Disney, including its streaming services, and eventually led to ABC reinstating the host’s show just days after.
What did Meyers say?
Trump didn’t specify which monologue influenced his post, but Meyers did mock the POTUS in various episodes last week, including a now-viral segment about the Epstein Files.
In the monologue, which was uploaded to YouTube on November 13, the host unpacks the news regarding the vote of a bill that would compel the US government to publish all its documents on late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After this, he highlights the news that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a number of new-to-the-public email exchanges by Epstein on November 12, including messages in which he described Trump as “borderline insane” and said he knew about “the girls.”
In response to a reporter stating, “Democrats say the emails raise new questions about Trump’s ties to Epstein,” Meyers joked, “They raised new questions? To me, it sounds like they answer old questions.
“Like, I’m no detective, but if one of the questions was ‘Did Trump know about the girls?’ and you find an email from Jeffrey Epstein that says ‘Trump knew about the girls,’ that sounds pretty damning.
“This is like if you’re investigating a murder suspect and you search their house, and in the closet, they have a shoebox labeled ‘murder weapon inside’ on the top, and on the side, it says, ‘Yes, that murder.’
“And then you ask the suspect where they were on the night of the murder, and they say ‘Uh, different places,’ you’d be like, ‘Chief, I think we got him.’”
The host goes on to say, “Trump claimed his top priority would be lowering prices for hard-working Americans, but instead he’s spending his time dodging Epstein questions and remodeling the White House.
“At this point, to claim that Trump cares about anyone other than himself, you’d have to have balls made of…,” at which point the screen cuts to a clip of Trump saying, “Pure brass.”
The clip is taken from Trump’s tour of the White House renovations with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, another news segment that gets roasted in Meyers’ monologue, which has since been viewed nearly 1.6 million times on YouTube.
As said, Trump didn’t specify which episode in particular sparked his Truth Social reaction, but many of Meyers’ recent monologues include at least some form of criticism or controversy involving the US President. However, there are currently no plans to have Meyers’ show removed from the air.