'Why is Britain obsessed with balance in comedy?', Nish Kumar asks as he weighs in on Jimmy Kimmel free speech row
The British comic said he struggles to see Britain as a 'bastian of free thought' in his industry
Comedian Nish Kumar has told LBC there’s no reason why he can’t be biased as he slammed the country’s fixation with balance in comedy.
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Speaking to LBC’s Shelagh Fogarty, the Pod Save the UK co-host said he is baffled by the UK’s “obsession” with comedy needing to account for both sides of a debate.
“Comedy is either funny or it’s not funny. There’s this idea that we have to fixate on balance - that doesn’t make any sense,” Kumar told LBC.
He added that he is struggling to see Britain as a “bastion of free speech and free thought in comedy” but added that this is “because I’m severely biased of the things that have happened to me in my life and career”.
In 2021, Kumar’s own show The Mash Report was cancelled after four years on air as the show faced allegations of being too "preachy, self-righteous [and] left-wing".
This week, a row over free speech erupted after US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had his show pulled from ABC over comments made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
‘It's the job of the news to be balanced - not comedy.'
— LBC (@LBC) September 18, 2025
Discussing Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, Nish Kumar doesn’t think the UK should be smug about its free speech laws when his own comedy show was cancelled. pic.twitter.com/c80vDlSZew
Referring to the Jimmy Kimmel saga, Kumar said: “There is a direct line between the federal government threatening a private company the removal of a comedian making a joke on air and this is the direction of travel the US has been going in for a few years now.
“There have always been these threats that if Trump was returned to office that he would be more assertive in his crackdown on dissent. He’s now become President, and all those fears are being borne out.”
He added that he was “not surprised” Kimmel’s show was pulled as this “literally happened to me” with The Mash Report.
“I’m struggling to join British people in sitting on a high horse in talking about this,” he added.
Kimmel sparked a row after saying on Monday that the “Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
The 57-year-old also compared Donald Trump's reaction to the shooting to "how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish".
The comedian, who has regularly poked fun at the US president on his show, also used his opening speech to criticise flags being flown at half mast in Kirk's honour.
He offered no comment after he emerged from the Los Angeles television studio shortly after ABC's announcement.
A spokesperson for the Disney-owned network revealed the show would be "pre-empted indefinitely" following the remarks.
Shortly after Kimmel's axing, Trump - who has openly criticised cancel culture in the past - called the move "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," he wrote in a social media post.
Fellow talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers also felt the wrath of the President's words, being described as: "two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible."