David Letterman, a looming figure in network television, sounded off while appearing on a video podcast posted to his YouTube channel on Friday, lamenting recent events in the late night arena and the decline he perceives in broadcast journalism at CBS, the former broadcaster of his The Late Show with David Letterman. 

On an episode of The Barbara Gaines Show, Letterman joined the host, who is the longtime former executive producer of The Late Show, and after about six minutes into the clip, he delivered one of his most pointed critiques yet on both topics — aimed squarely at corporate media ownership and the erosion of editorial courage. His comments arrive at a turbulent moment for late night television, as networks face Trump administration backlash and internal strife over how far hosts can go in criticizing the president and others in power. Jimmy Kimmel and his nightly show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! have become central to this debate and in the video, Letterman praised him as a defining voice of the moment.

“Jimmy Kimmel single-handedly brought the people at Disney and all of those other network television owners to their knees,” Letterman said after bringing up the topic himself, arguing that the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host exposed the contradictions and sensitivities of corporate media executives while holding political leaders accountable.

Letterman rejected claims that late night comedy has become reflexively partisan, insisting that Kimmel’s criticism is driven by conduct, not party affiliation: “If we had a Democratic president behaving the way this Republican president is behaving, Jimmy would be attacking the Democratic president just as much.”

The remarks come as Disney has faced scrutiny over how it managed the political controversy around Kimmel’s show. Following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Disney was accused of temporarily sidelining Kimmel in an attempt to reduce its political exposure when Jimmy Kimmel Live! was put on hiatus. The incident intensified concerns that corporate owners are increasingly risk-averse when confronted with the volatility of the current political fray. 

Letterman also warned that late night is running out of platforms willing to tolerate dissenting voices. Alongside Kimmel, he cited late night hosts Seth Meyers and , the latter who took over when he left his gig, as part of a shrinking group of hosts willing to challenge the powers that be.