If late-night television were a battlefield, Greg Gutfeld just launched a full-scale attack—and he’s not pulling any punches.

The Fox News star, who has steadily transformed his Gutfeld! show from a quirky cable experiment into the undisputed king of late-night ratings, took aim at his rivals in a blistering monologue that has everyone from Hollywood to network boardrooms talking. And the targets of his verbal onslaught? None other than Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers—all of whom he accuses of being “hostages” to celebrity culture and publicists.

Speaking during the July 28 broadcast of Fox News’ The Five, Gutfeld lit the match that would ignite a media firestorm.

“They are beholden to publicists and celebrities,” he declared, his tone dripping with disdain.

The veteran host didn’t stop there. He painted a vivid, almost comical picture of what he believes the other late-night shows have become: sanitized, fearful, and suffocating.

“They can’t ask anything that isn’t safe,” Gutfeld said. “If you were to say, ‘Have you been following men in women’s sports?’—whoever you have on, Brad Pitt is going to look at his publicist and go, ‘Get me out of here.’”

It was a shot across the bow, calling out Hollywood’s unwritten rules and mocking the risk-averse culture he claims has strangled late-night comedy.

A Late-Night Civil War

Gutfeld’s comments land at a critical—and chaotic—moment for the genre. Earlier this month, CBS announced it would cancel The Late Show, with Stephen Colbert’s long-running program scheduled to air its final episode in May 2026.

The official explanation? Budget cuts.

The unofficial whispers? Colbert’s relentless jabs at former President Donald Trump had worn thin, and audiences were tuning out.

To Gutfeld, it’s proof of what he’s been saying for years: traditional late-night is crumbling under the weight of its own political preaching and celebrity coddling.

“I take issue with the biggest lie you’re seeing here,” he said, cutting into the camera. “The idea that Colbert or Kimmel were ever risk-takers. They had long, rewarding, lucrative careers doing exactly what was expected of them. Just so happens the audience found an alternate universe and realized they were being lied to.”

He’s not wrong about one thing: audiences have shifted. Since 2022, Gutfeld! has slowly but surely climbed the ratings ladder to become the most-watched late-night show across both cable and broadcast, routinely topping The Late Show, The Tonight Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! in total viewers, according to Nielsen ratings.

The Rise of Gutfeld—and the Fall of a Genre

In Gutfeld’s view, his success isn’t just about what he’s doing right—it’s about what everyone else is doing wrong.

“The only reason I think that my show exists is because of the arrogance, the ego, and the assumptions that the liberals have to turn comedy sideways,” he explained, practically savoring the takedown.

Translation? While his rivals are busy performing for Twitter applause and celebrity approval, Gutfeld says he’s giving viewers something they actually want: comedy that speaks to their frustrations, without the Hollywood filter.

He calls his show a space for “alternative viewpoints,” a place where taboo topics can breathe and viewers feel like someone is finally saying what they’re thinking.

“People find my show entertaining because I’m saying things that they’re thinking, things they thought they couldn’t say,” he said. “Everybody else has made it so suffocating.”

It’s a formula that has turned the traditional late-night hierarchy upside down. Once upon a time, Johnny Carson and David Letterman set the standard. Today, Greg Gutfeld—a former Red Eye host and self-described “political jester”—is leading the pack, much to the horror of Hollywood insiders.

The Future of Late-Night: A Ticking Clock

As the genre struggles to define its future, one thing is clear: the old model is on life support. Viewers no longer flock to watch celebrities tell safe anecdotes and promote their latest projects. They want candor, conflict, and a sense that the host isn’t reading from the same script as every other network personality.

And that’s where Gutfeld thrives. By skewering sacred cows and refusing to play by the industry’s unspoken rules, he’s carved out a lane that none of the other late-night giants saw coming.

If his ratings dominance continues, the question isn’t whether he’ll keep the crown—it’s whether anyone else can even mount a challenge. And with The Late Show now on a countdown to its final curtain, the message from audiences is deafening: late-night TV is changing, and not everyone will survive.

For now, Gutfeld is relishing the moment, casting himself as the lone rebel in a world of compliant hosts. His final jab summed it up best:

“Comedy isn’t supposed to beg for approval. And I’m not here to babysit celebrities.”