Stephen Colbert came back swinging in what might be the most defiant against TV since… ever?
After CBS cancelled The Late Show, the internet did what the internet does: speculated. Was it the money? Was it politics? Was it pressure from Trump’s camp? Colbert wasted no time clearing the air and throwing punches.
Let’s rewind a bit. Paramount, the parent company of CBS recently agreed to pay Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over a 60 Minutes episode. That’s already messy. But then, The Late Show gets cancelled days later. Convenient? Colbert didn’t think so either. In his words, “Where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16m?
Trump of course gloated on Truth Social. “I absolutely love that Colbert was fired,” he posted. Colbert’s on-air response was blunt: “Go f— yourself.”
He went on to mock the whole debacle, saying CBS cancelled him because he had the audacity to grow a moustache. “This is worse than fascism. This is stachism,” he joked.
The Impact on Other Late Night Hosts
In a show of solidarity, the late-night gang pulled up: Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and even Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anderson Cooper dropped by. This whole thing feels less like a sketch and more like a statement; Colbert’s cancellation wasn’t just one man losing a show, it was a warning to the rest of late night hosts.
Jon Stewart didn’t hold back either. He went full elder statesman on The Daily Show, torching Paramount for not protecting their top-rated late-night franchise. He even questioned whether this was all about fast-tracking their $8bn merger with Skydance, a merger that, by the way, needs approval from the Trump-influenced FCC. Are your eyebrows raised? Mine are.
Stewart asked the question a lot of us were thinking: Why would any network believe playing it safe, watering themselves down to avoid Trump’s wrath is a winning strategy? Then he led his audience in a full-throated, cathartic chant of “go fuck yourselves” directed at corporate cowardice. I felt that one in my soul.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon made a rare jab, saying CBS risked losing “millions of viewers plus tens of hundreds watching on Paramount+.”
Outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, the protests have already started. Fans showed up with signs that said, “Colbert Stays! Trump Must Go!”
Whether or not you were a nightly viewer, this moment matters. Colbert wasn’t just doing jokes, he was holding power to account in a country where that’s becoming increasingly risky. And now, one of the loudest, smartest, funniest voices has been quieted, by pressure and politics.
What does that say about where we are?
What are your thoughts.
