Howard Stern says ABC will have ‘hell to pay’ if network tampers with Jimmy Kimmel show

Radio host Howard Stern said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” public Tuesday that ABC would have “hell to pay” if something went wrong with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show.

“I want to say something to ABC if they’re watching it right now,” Stern said, noting that he had heard rumors about the show before and didn’t know what was true. “There is no man more loyal to this company than this guy.

“And what I mean by that is the truth. For years, I told him, you know, he goes to these things. ABC has a corporate function where they try to attract advertisers. Every year he would go to what they call upfronts.”

The radio host told the audience that Kimmel would still attend the events because ABC needed his presence.

“He did everything for the company. And I hope they keep that in mind,” he said. “Oh my God. I don’t know about you, but if something goes wrong, oh, is ABC going to have hell to pay. Am I right? Are you with me?”

ABC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Reports that Kimmel’s show had been canceled were dismissed by ABC earlier this month. A spokesperson pushed back on Page Six’s report that Kimmel’s contract would not be renewed, calling any information about the late-night show’s future “speculative.”

“Howard Stern’s reign as king of all media is over in more ways than one,” Hollywood in Toto founder Christian Toto told Fox News Digital in a statement about Stern’s remarks. “The man who once defended free speech remained silent during the woke culture wars. Now he’s rushing to defend a multi-millionaire, someone whose show is probably costing ABC a lot of money.

“This explains why the network needs a drastic budget cut to make ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on the air,” he continued. “If CBS lost $40 million a year to keep Stephen Colbert employed, imagine what ABC would have to swallow to appease Kimmel.

“The old Stern would have recognized these basic business principles,” Toto added. “The new version? It’s an ultra-rich liberal supporting another ultra-rich liberal while misleading the public about the issues at stake.”

Kimmel’s show went on hiatus briefly in September 2025 after the late-night host’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s murder.

The liberal late-night personality returned to the air days later and referenced the suspension in frequent jabs at President Donald Trump, as well as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr.

Kimmel, after returning from his summer vacation on September 8, punched Carr and told him, “We’re still here.” »

The late-night host noted that this was the 4,000th episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“We’ve done 4,000. That’s a lot of shows,” Kimmel said. “According to the White House, this is too much spectacle.

“There were those who said we would never last that long. There were even those who used the regulatory power of the FCC to unconstitutionally try to make sure we didn’t last that long. But we did it the hard way, Brendan. And we’re still here.”

The late-night host had New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on the show Monday night and asked him several times about the nature of his relationship with Trump.

The democratic socialist mayor appeared to deflect Kimmel’s questions as Mamdani avoided criticizing Trump and rejected the late-night host’s request to send him a selfie.

“Did you two hit it off immediately or was it something you really thought about, like, ‘OK, I need to have a relationship with the President of the United States, and I think the best way to do that is to charm him?’ How did you do this and can you help me? Kimmel asked Mamdani, calling his relationship with Trump “unexpected.”

Mamdani replied: “Sorry, brother.”

“The No. 1 thing we’ve talked about recently has been Sunnyside Yard, which is this idea for decades of building a platform on top of a rail yard and then building 12,000 homes. And so, at that moment, you know, which you zoomed in on, I’m just thinking 12,000 homes, 30,000 jobs, the largest housing development since the early 1970s,” Mamdani told Kimmel.

Kimmel asked, “When you message him about Sunnyside, are you sure he doesn’t think you’re messaging him about eggs?”

Mamdani said he was “pretty sure” and noted that the texts were pretty normal and didn’t resemble the president’s Truth Social messages.

“Wow. You really broke through with him,” Kimmel said. “I mean, look, you seem to be doing a great job in New York. We might need you to move to Washington and hang out in the Oval Office all day. Like if you sent him a selfie of us right now.”

Mamdani laughed and turned it off.

“I love you, but I love housing more,” Mamdani replied.