A bearded Stephen Colbert has emerged to give fellow Donald Trump enemy Jimmy Kimmel an Emmy boost, even though his own canceled show is among the nominees.
The former late-night host, whose The Late Show aired its final episode in May, urged fans to cast their ballots for Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the Outstanding Variety Series category in a video posted on Instagram on Tuesday.
“Oh, hi. Stephen Colbert here at the end of the world,” Colbert, 62, said while perched at an overlook with the ocean stretching out behind him.
“You know, there’s twenty-four hours left in Emmy voting, and if you’re anything like me, you haven’t even started yet. So let’s get going. First up, we have, oh, Outstanding Variety Series,” he added.
Noting that the Emmys have “kind of a weird voting system this year,” Colbert continued, “But, you know, I think we can all agree that Jimmy Kimmel deserves an Emmy. I don’t care if you’ve never even seen his show. You know he deserves an Emmy.”
“Besides, look how cute he is,” Colbert said as he flashed a photo of Kimmel on his tablet, before concluding, “Anyway, please consider thinking that Jimmy deserves an Emmy. I do. I love you.”
Colbert’s own The Late Show scored nine Emmy nominations, the most of his 11-year tenure behind the desk, including a nod for Outstanding Variety Series.
But Colbert appears to be returning the favor to Kimmel, who backed him during last year’s Emmy Awards race after CBS announced it would cancel The Late Show, a decision some attributed to political pressure from President Donald Trump.
Kimmel, who like Colbert has become a frequent target of the president, took out a Los Angeles billboard during last year’s voting period that read, “I’m voting for Stephen.”
Since then, Trump and his MAGA allies have turned their fire on Kimmel, 58. The 80-year-old president has repeatedly called for ABC to fire Kimmel, and nearly got his way when the host was suspended from the network in September, following comments he made during a monologue about MAGA’s reaction to the death of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
There’s little head-to-head competition for Outstanding Variety Series this year, as nominees are judged individually. Emmy voters are asked, “Does this nominee merit an Emmy?” Any nominee that receives at least 90 percent “yes” votes will take home the award, according to Page Six.
This year’s nominees are Colbert’s The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Daily Show, and Saturday Night Live.
Colbert unveiled his new bearded look last week, when he accepted the Television Critics Association’s award for Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch on behalf of The Late Show, as well as his own TCA Career Achievement Award.
Colbert’s Career Achievement Award places him among late-night legends Johnny Carson and David Letterman, making him only the third late-night host to have received the award.
