Stephen Colbert told the New York Times he believes “two things can be true” about CBS’ cancellation of “The Late Show,” amid rumors that the network’s decision to axe the late night series was made to appease President Trump.
CBS has called the cancellation “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.” However, the cancellation came in July 2025, just days after Colbert called CBS parent company Paramount’s $16 million “60 Minutes” settlement with President Trump a “big fat bribe” on-air designed to ensure that the Trump administration’s FCC would approve the company’s since-completed merger with Skydance Media.
The timing of the cancellation has caused many to speculate that it was done to appease Trump and his administration. Colbert, for his part, told the New York Times that he believes it is possible that is the case and that “The Late Show” was costing CBS too much to go on.
“I do not dispute their rationale,” Colbert said of the rumors surrounding his show’s cancellation. “I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn’t make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me, because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit.”
“It’s possible that two things can be true. Broadcast can be in trouble. They cannot monetize because of things like YouTube, because of the competition of streaming,” Colbert continued. “I do not have any desire to debate them over what they say their business model is and how it does not work for them anymore. But less than two years before they called to say it’s over, they were very eager for me to be signed for a long time. So, something changed.”
As Colbert’s latter comment notes, CBS encouraged him in 2023 to sign a contract extension to host “The Late Show” for up to five years. He ultimately signed a three-year deal. The host nonetheless refused to tell the New York Times whether or not he believes one explanation for “The Late Show’s” fate over the other.
“I believe two things can be true. I’m not saying the two things are true. It behooves me not, it ain’t ‘behoovy’ for me, to spend a lot of time thinking about that,” Colbert said. “I have zero desire to have a contentious relationship with my network. I’ve really liked working with CBS. They’ve been great partners. And I’d like to end it that way. Eleven years is a long time to work here. And almost 10 years before that, almost 21 years altogether, in late night. I feel so much better to be ‘grateful for’ than to be ‘mad about.’”
In the same interview, Colbert fervently dismissed the Trump administration’s insistence that “The Late Show” and TV’s other late night titles have become unfairly partisan.
“I don’t have any problem with Trump being a Republican,” Colbert explained. “I have a problem with Trump being a complete narcissist who is only working for his own interest and does not appear to care if the entire world burns. That’s not a partisan position. I have eyeballs and ears, and I think calling late night partisan is just roughing the ref.”
“I reject the partisan description. Partisan means you’re never, ever going to make a joke about a Democrat, and that’s just not true,” Colbert concluded, adding, “There’s just no comparison of how fertile the fields are.”
