Stephen Colbert Fires Back at Trump After Show Gets Axed

“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert is not going down quietly. On Monday, he imparted a few choice words to President Donald Trump and CBS, the network that canceled his show last week. Colbert responded to Trump…

Sandra RhodesJul 22, 20253 min read

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But Trump was not the only entity receiving Colbert’s ire as he also spoke about Paramount’s statement that the cancellation was for financial reasons. Paramount is CBS’ parent company, per Mediaite.

The cancellation was announced shortly after Colbert criticized CBS for its $16 million settlement with Trump. Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe.”

“People have been speculating about the timing of this decision from Paramount and they’re pointing out that last Monday, just two days before my cancellation, I delivered a blistering monologue in which I showed the courage to have a mustache,” Colbert said Monday. “I mean obviously CBS saw my upper lip and boom cancelled. Coincidence? Oh, I think not. This is worse than fascism. This is stashism.”

He also pointed out his show was No. 1 in the ratings.

“CBS, our network CBS, who I want to reiterate have always been great partners, put out a statement saying very, you know, very nice things about me and about the show. And, uh, thank you to them for that,” he said. “They clarified that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision.” But how could it purely be a financial decision if The Late Show is number one in ratings? A lot of folks … yeah, you know, it’s confusing.

A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff’s parents and spouses.”

“Well, over the weekend, somebody at CBS followed up their gracious press release with a gracious anonymous leak, saying they pulled the plug on our show because of losses pegged between $40 million and $50 million a year. $40 million is a big number,” he continued.

“I could see us losing $24 million, but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million? Oh, yeah –

Still, that’s still a lot of money. I mean, where does the Late Show rank, Jim? What other companies lost that kind of money last year? Red Lobster? Damn it! I told them we should stop offering the audience unlimited shrimp,” Colbert added. “So, with those numbers, I got to say it makes sense we’d be cancelled. I get it, guys. And thanks again.”