Stephen Colbert sounded off on the Washington Post’s sweeping layoffs, blasting the paper’s job cuts as billionaire owner Jeff Bezos’ “worst decision” ever.
The comedian addressed the layoffs at the Washington Post during Wednesday’s monologue for “The Late Show,” where he joked that the storied publication was “black and white and dead all over.”
“Today the WaPo cut a third of its staff. And you know this is bad because
rather than read that headline from the Washington Post, I pulled it from Philadelphia’s ABC 6 Action News,” Colbert said. “No pressure, ABC 6 Action News. But, from here on out, it’s just you and the New York Times.”
As Colbert continued, he noted that he could not believe that “we’re losing a pillar of journalism in the middle of a constitutional crisis,” adding that the layoffs “might be the worst decision” Bezos has ever made.
Though, after showing a photo of Bezos in the cowboy hat he wore before (and after) his Blue Origin space flight, Colbert quipped that the layoffs may’ve been “the second worst decision Jeff Bezos has ever made.”
“Now, reportedly, Bezos’ lackey, executive editor Matt Murray, told staff members the company had lost too much money for too long thanks to declining audiences and sagging subscriptions,” Colbert added. “I would tell you more of what he said, but it was behind the paywall and daddy don’t play like that.”
Per Colbert, the whole ordeal has been branded “the murder of the Washington Post,” adding, “Their masthead used to say, ‘Democracy dies in darkness,’ but now it’s just, ‘Democracy: Die! Die! Die!’” Watch Colbert’s full monologue below.
Colbert’s commentary comes the same day the Washington Post slashed its newsroom in a “strategic reset.”
As we previously reported, the plan to significantly downsize the paper included the scaling back of international coverage, ending the sports section in its “current form,” and restructuring the metro desk. The books section was also eliminated.
In response to the layoffs, Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, slammed Bezos for cutting his WaPo staff by nearly a third to allegedly “suck up” to President Trump.
Bezos has yet to release a statement on the job cuts.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
