Late-night host Jimmy Fallon backed out of a public appearance minutes before it was to start, citing “current events,” as President Trump is calling on NBC to cancel “The Tonight Show.”

Mr. Trump celebrated ABC’s decision to “indefinitely” suspend its late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, after he suggested the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination is part of the “MAGA gang.” He is reportedly refusing to apologize.

The president went further and urged NBC to cancel Mr. Fallon’s show and Seth Meyers’s show, “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!” Mr. Trump wrote on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, Mr. Fallon was supposed to participate in a panel at the Fast Company Innovation Festival. However, he backed out shortly before the event was supposed to begin.

“Unfortunately, Jimmy Fallon is no longer able to attend today’s session Staying ‘On Brand,’” the event said in a statement.

The moderator of the panel kicked off the discussion by stating, “In light of current events, Jimmy could not make it this morning.”

It was not entirely clear why Mr. Fallon canceled his appearance. The event organizers declined to provide any further comment. 

The abrupt decision to back out of the panel has raised eyebrows due to Mr. Trump’s post and ABC’s shocking decision to pull Mr. Kimmel’s show from the air. 

ABC’s decision also came two months after CBS announced it was canceling “The Late Show,” hosted by Stephen Colbert, in May 2026 for “financial” reasons. 

Across the industry, late-night shows have struggled financially, and it is widely known that they are not drawing in as much advertising revenue as they once did, and in some cases are losing money. Puck’s Matthew Belloni reported that CBS’s “The Late Show,” hosted by Mr. Colbert, has been losing $40 million a year.

There has been a debate among industry insiders about how much money late-night shows are losing, as media reporters have noted that accounting for broadcast networks is complicated. Media reporter Oliver Darcy wrote in his “Status” newsletter in August that a “veteran television executive” told him, “You can make any of these things look however you want.” But most media reporters concede that the late-night industry is not making as much money as it used to. 

While Mr. Colbert’s show is ending and Mr. Kimmel has been pulled off the air, it was believed that Mr. Fallon has better job security, as his show is less political and he has been less of a target for Mr. Trump.

Messrs. Colbert and Kimmel have both regularly used their programs to skewer Mr. Trump and conservatives. Mr. Kimmel has also faced criticism over his donations to Democrats and his left-wing advocacy, which led to a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission over his alleged conflicts of interest. 

Mr. Colbert has been the highest-rated late-night show on broadcast television. In 2024, he averaged 2.57 million viewers. Meanwhile, Mr. Kimmel averaged 1.77 million viewers during the same period.

Mr. Fallon came in third place with an average of 1.37 million viewers. 

Despite their lower ratings and concerns about the future of late-night, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” Lorne Michaels, who was a major influence in NBC choosing Mr. Fallon to host “Late Night” before he moved to “The Tonight Show,” told Puck in August that he believes Messrs. Fallon and Meyers are “safe.”

Mr. Belloni asked Mr. Michaels, “Have you been assured by Comcast that the Jimmy and Seth shows are safe for the foreseeable future?”

“Yes,” Mr. Michaels responded. “I think [CEO] Brian Roberts — who I will be working for the rest of my life, who I have very high admiration for — has integrity. But at the same time, everyone has [broadcast] licenses, everyone has … you know. But I really don’t believe that [will] affect things.”

His comment about broadcast licenses appeared to be a reference to Mr. Trump’s previous calls for the Federal Communications Commission to revoke the licenses of ABC and NBC. It is widely believed that the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, was influential in the decision of ABC to pull Mr. Kimmel’s show off the air after his comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged shooter.

Hours before ABC announced the move, Mr. Carr said that the network could take the “easy way” and voluntarily address the matter, or it could take the “hard way,” which would involve more “work” for the FCC. Mr. Carr said local stations should refuse to air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and, in a matter of hours, two of the largest station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, said they would preempt the show. 

Mr. Michaels told Mr. Belloni in August that “even with this president,” he believes Messrs. Fallon and Meyers are safe. 

NBC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.