Politics on late night: Explosive Michael Avenatti abuse allegations ignored on late shows

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Avenatti out on bail after domestic violence charge

Lawyer for Stormy Daniels says he will be 'fully exonerated' of the charge; Jonathan Hunt reports on the case.

Late night hosts across the board chose to avoid the controversy surrounding high-profile attorney and potential 2020 candidate Michael Avenatti.

On Thursday evening, it was reported that Avenatti was arrested in Los Angeles for felony domestic violence. A woman, which was previously incorrectly reported as his estranged wife, was seen with a “swollen and bruised” face. The lawyer for Stormy Daniels has completely denied the abuse allegation made against him, making defiant remarks after being released from jail.

Avenatti's arrest took place on Wednesday evening, around the time most late-night shows are taped. However, the recent news surrounding Avenatti was not mentioned in the monologues given by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Trevor Noah, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, or James Corden.

Both Colbert and Kimmel slammed President Donald Trump for his recent tweets attacking Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trevor Noah mocked Trump’s recent bipartisan prison reform efforts as well as British Prime Minister Theresa May’s struggles to negotiate a Brexit plan. Seth Meyers dedicated his “Closer Look” segment on the Democrats’ takeover of the House as well as Trump’s seemingly deteriorating relationship with French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, Avenatti did make a very brief appearance in Kimmel’s weekly installment of “This Week in Unnecessary Censorship,” which takes TV clips from the week and puts random bleeps into dialogue as if inappropriate things were being said on-air. Kimmel pulled a clip from Avenatti’s news conference Wednesday night.

“I have never f--ked a woman. I will never f--k a woman,” Avenatti said in the altered clip. In actuality, he said, "I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman."

Avenatti is best known as the outspoken lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, who was paid into silence during the 2016 election by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen about her alleged 2005 affair with the then-candidate. He has appeared over 100 times on cable news and has even appeared twice on “The Late Show.” He has also floated the idea of running for president in 2020.