ALBAWABA - Stephen Colbert, a comedian and political analyst, said on air Thursday night that CBS will end his show "The Late Show" in May 2026.
CBS said in a statement that the choice to cancel the show was "purely a financial decision" and had nothing to do with how well it did or what it was about. The news came after Stephen Colbert criticized a settlement between President Trump and CBS's parent company, Paramount Global.
Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a case over changes made to an interview with Kamala Harris for president on CBS's "60 Minutes" in October 2024. Colbert often made fun of Trump on his show, and on Monday he called the payment a "big fat bribe."
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 14: U.S. President Donald Trump (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)
Press freedom groups and supporters said Trump's lawsuit, in which he said CBS edited the interview to make Harris look better, was "frivolous." They also said the deal would make the president even more confident in his attacks on the media.
Some Democrats said that Paramount did something in exchange for something from the Trump administration in order to get the government to accept the company's planned merger with Skydance Media, which will be worth billions of dollars.
Stephen Colbert said on his show on Monday, "I don't know if anything will fix my trust in this company." "But just guessing, I think $16 million would be helpful."
Stephen Colbert said on Thursday that "The Late Show" would end because he is "not being replaced." "All of this is just going away," the crowd said with loud boos.
Jimmy Kimmel Instagram Story
Shortly after the news broke Thursday evening, Kimmel posted an Instagram Story with a simple, two-part message:
“Love you Stephen.”
And: “F*ck you CBS and all your Sheldons.”
The first episode of "The Late Show" ran in 1993. Colbert became the host in 2015.
