Stephen Colbert didn’t hold back Monday night as he slammed CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, for canceling The Late Show—his own show. CBS claims the move is about saving money. But Colbert isn’t buying it.
During his opening monologue, Colbert thanked friends and colleagues in the TV world who reached out after the news broke. Then he turned to CBS, taking a sharp jab at the network’s decision to cancel the show: “They made one key mistake,” he said. “They left me alive.”
Colbert also took direct aim at reports, clearly leaked by the network, that said The Late Show was losing $40 million a year. “That’s a big number,” he admitted, before twisting the knife: “I could see us losing $24 million. But where could Paramount possibly have spent the other $16 million… oh wait.”
That “oh wait” was a clear shot at Paramount’s recent $16 million settlement with Donald Trump. The company paid the president to settle a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris. That settlement came just as Paramount is trying to seal a multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance—one that needs Trump’s regulators to give the green light.
Critics say Paramount is bowing to political pressure. Colbert went even further last week, calling the payout to Trump a “big fat bribe.”
Trump, for his part, gloated over Colbert’s cancellation on Truth Social, writing that he “loves” the news and calling Colbert talentless.
Colbert fired back: “How dare you, sir. Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism: ‘Go f— yourself.’”
The night wasn’t without backup. Colbert was joined in cameos by fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jon Stewart—who also took time on The Daily Show to defend Colbert.
“I’m not going anywhere… I think,” Stewart told his Comedy Central audience. That’s still a Paramount-owned network, too.
But for Colbert, the battle is personal—and far from over.
Watch the segment below:
