Stephen Colbert assured viewers on Monday night that CBS’ decision to block an interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was for “purely financial reasons,” a wink to the network’s rationale for canceling “The Late Show” last July.
And just like that controversy, Colbert’s broadside against his bosses stoked suspicions that media giants are putting the bottom line above the First Amendment.
Based on Colbert’s claims, CBS’ interference amounted to self-censorship. The network’s actions, by his account, suggest that FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s equal-time guidance issued last month is already having a chilling effect, and comes as Donald Trump has targeted journalists and talk show hosts for articles and jokes he doesn’t like.
“Carr issued a letter saying he was thinking about getting rid of that talk show exception. He had not gotten rid of it yet,” Colbert said on Tuesday night’s show. “But CBS generously did it for him, and told me unilaterally that I had to abide by the equal time rules, something I have never been asked to do for an interview.”
The Colbert controversy is the latest black eye for the Tiffany network, which has been dogged by accusations of kowtowing to the Trump administration. It was Colbert who blasted CBS-parent Paramount last July for giving a “big fat bribe” to Trump to settle his “meritless” lawsuit over a “60 minutes” edit, as the company sought FCC approval for its merger with David Ellison’s Skydance. CBS News has since come under intense scrutiny since Ellison took control and installed Bari Weiss, co-founder of the right-leaning Free Press, as the news division’s editor-in-chief.
Ellison’s Paramount is now vying for Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company of CNN, and has signaled it will have an easier regulatory path than rival Netflix. Any whiff of censorship — never mind Colbert effectively making such claims with a bullhorn – only adds to perceptions that David and his Trump-supporting father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, will cater to the president’s wishes.
“CBS’ lawyers did what people say you should not do to authoritarianism, which is to obey in advance,” Blair Levin, who served as FCC chief of staff during Bill Clinton’s administration, told TheWrap. “There was no potential FCC action barring the interview, but rather only penalties if another candidate requested equal time and did not receive it.”
While Colbert was unequivocal Monday night about what transpired with Talarico — “We were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast” — CBS disputed his framing of events the following afternoon.
“’The Late Show’ was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled,” the network said in a statement, referring to Talarico’s rival in the Texas Democratic primary.
“The Late Show decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options,” it continued.
“I don’t even know what to do with this crap,” Colbert said of the statement on Tuesday night’s show, claiming that the network didn’t consult him before putting it out. He also said that “every word” of the previous night’s script “was approved by CBS’ lawyers.”
“I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t want to tell them how to do their jobs, but since they seem intent on telling me how to do mine, here we go,” he said. “Fellas, I am well aware that we can book other guests. I didn’t need to be presented with that option. I’ve had Jasmine Crockett on my show twice.”
Crockett appeared on “The Late Show” last May, prior to announcing her Senate bid, and previously in 2024.
Colbert said he was “surprised that this giant global corporation would not stand up to these bullies,” adding: “Come on, you’re Paramount. No, no. You’re more than that. You’re Paramount Plus. Plus what? I guess we’re all going to find out pretty soon.”
Carr’s crusade
Carr, the FCC chair, has aggressively targeted media companies during Trump’s second term, zeroing in on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and alleging bias, all as Trump has threatened to pull broadcast licenses and called for the firing of late night hosts like NBC’s Seth Meyers and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.
In the wake of Kimmel’s comments about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Carr said ominously, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” ABC-parent Disney suspended Kimmel followed by ABC-affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair announcing plans to preempt the show, prompting a viewer backlash and Kimmel’s return.
Last month, Carr warned that daytime and late night talk shows could be required to comply with equal-time rules when giving time to political candidates, suggesting that the traditional exceptions for a “bona fide news interview” wouldn’t necessarily apply, especially if a program appears “motivated by partisan purposes.”
The FCC reportedly launched a probe earlier this month over whether daytime show “The View” — another recurring Trump target — had violated equal-time rules by airing an interview with Talarico.
Levin said the equal time rule mandates that if you speak to a political candidate, an opposing candidate has to request time; in this case Crockett. CBS, however, is under no obligation to block an interview in advance.
“How will talent regard them bending the knee?” Levin asked of Paramount. “They may win the battle for Warner,” he added, “but they’re going to be in a difficult situation in terms of attracting talent.”
Anna Gomez, the longtime Democratic FCC commissioner, raised Paramount’s “regulatory matters before the government” in a statement Tuesday condemning the move, adding that “corporate interests cannot justify retreating from airing newsworthy content.”
“This is yet another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this Administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech,” Gomez said. “The FCC has no lawful authority to pressure broadcasters for political purposes or to create a climate that chills free expression. CBS is fully protected under the First Amendment to determine what interviews it airs, which makes its decision to yield to political pressure all the more disappointing.”
The FCC did not respond to a request for comment on Colbert’s Monday segment.
“The most dangerous kind of cancel culture”
During his second term, Trump has sued three news organizations – The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and BBC — while he and his administration regularly attack and undermine the press. Last week, Federal Trade Commission chairman Andrew Ferguson warned Apple CEO Tim Cook over alleged political bias on Apple News.
The GOP’s free-speech posturing was addressed in Colbert’s interview with Talarico, which the host cleverly posted on YouTube, noting Carr’s remarks that he and Kimmel “can go to a cable channel or podcast or streaming service” if they don’t want to comply.
“This is the party that ran against cancel culture, and now they’re trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read,” Talarico told Colbert. “And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top.”
“They went after ‘The View’ because I went on there. They went after Jimmy Kimmel for telling a joke they didn’t like. They went after you for telling the truth about Paramount’s ‘bribe’ to Donald Trump. Corporate media executives are selling out the First Amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians. A threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights.”
Colbert said he had to “fact-check” Talarico. “My network said our cancellation was a purely financial decision,” he said, before turning to the camera and adding he remained “very grateful for the last 11 years.”
Talarico is an up-and-coming star in Democratic politics, a state representative who has been open about his Christian faith but willing to call out the right’s weaponization of religion. He got a jolt of national recognition last year following a sitdown with Joe Rogan, who urged him to run for president, and is getting more visibility amid the Colbert controversy. As of Tuesday morning, the interview on YouTube has gotten more than 5 million views.
It’s not unlike another CBS scandal during the Ellison era. Weiss abruptly shelved a “60 Minutes” segment on the Trump administration sending Venezuela migrants to a notorious El Salvador prison, which only brought attention to the segment — and scrutiny to her monthslong tenure.
By revealing the chilling effect inside CBS, Colbert made a compelling case for free speech.
Corbin Bolies contributed reporting to this story.
