“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert revealed the reason his interview with Senate hopeful and Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) and the reason does not look good for CBS.
Colbert scorched his own network Monday night as he mocked CBS for “enforcing” Federal Communication Commission chairman Brendan Carr’s new federal guidance on political airtime as one made out of fear of the Trump administration, per Mediaite.
“Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on,” Colbert said. “And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
Colbert, whose show will end in May, told viewers network lawyers had called his team “directly” to stop the interview with Talarico from airing on cable, but allowed it to air on the show’s YouTube channel.
Colbert said he was not allowed to show an image of Talarico or mention his name, but Colbert ignored the latter.
Carr said in a January letter that exemption to the FCC’s “equal time” rule, which requires broadcasters to offer comparable airtime to rival candidates, may not automatically apply to entertainment talk shows. He said determinations could hinge on whether there was a “partisan motivation” in booking a candidate.
“It’s the FCC’s most time-honored rule, right after ‘”It’s the FCC’s most time-honored rule, right after ‘no nipples at the Super Bowl,'” Colbert said.
“Well sir, you’re chairman of the FCC, so FCC you,” Colbert continued. “Because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself. Sir, you smelt it ’cause you dealt it.”
Carr called out ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and Colbert in a subsequent interview.
There has been some backlash following Colbert’s announcement.
Talarico posted a video of the interview early Tuesday. He taunted President Donald Trump as “worried” the Democratic Party was going to “flip Texas”
Watch:
A number of journalists called out the FCC for posing as “guest booker.”
