The Real Reason CBS Cancelled Stephen Colbert
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CBS executives insisted the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” was “purely a financial decision” and had nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump Administration.
The controversy erupted after Colbert and many of his defenders suggested politics — and specifically President Donald Trump — were behind the show’s demise. Critics pointed to Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance Media and the company’s efforts to navigate regulatory scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Newsmax host Todd Starnes said Colbert’s undoing was a result of Stage-4 Trump Derangement Syndrome.
“The real reason Colbert was canceled had nothing to do with President Trump and everything to do with the bottom line,” Starnes said. “Colbert’s Trump Derangement Syndrome was bankrupting CBS.”
Reuters reported that “The Late Show” had been losing an estimated $40 million annually amid collapsing advertising revenue and shrinking audiences across late-night television.
Joe Concha reported in the Washington Examiner that The Late Show employed 200-plus staffers and the sam report says show credits listed 22 writers for Colbert’s monologues.
It cost nearly $100 million to produce Colbert’s show, but high production costs led to its demise. Colbert’s salary was roughly $20 million. The network was hemorrhaging cash.
“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” CBS executives said in a statement announcing the cancellation. “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
President Trump wasted very little time commemorating the latest notch on his belt of canceled Hollywood celebrities.
“Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”
Even some liberal entertainers acknowledged the economic reality. Former late-night host Samantha Bee admitted Colbert’s program was “hemorrhaging money” and viewers before CBS pulled the plug.
A separate study by the Media Research Center found Colbert’s guest lineup and comedy had become overwhelmingly political and ideological. According to the study, 87 percent of the show’s political jokes targeted conservatives, while nearly all political guests leaned left.
Since 2022, the show reportedly hosted 176 left-leaning guests and just one Republican — former Rep. Liz Cheney, a prominent Trump critic. Sen. Bernie Sanders appeared roughly 15 times during Colbert’s tenure, while CNN anchor Jake Tapper made approximately 14 appearances, according to episode databases and media reports.
“The real reason Colbert was canceled had nothing to do with President Trump and everything to do with the bottom line,” Starnes said. “Colbert’s Trump Derangement Syndrome was bankrupting CBS.”
Starnes also mocked reports that the show employed 22 writers for Colbert’s opening monologue.
“What’s even more stunning is that it took 22 people to write Colbert’s 5-minute opening monologue,” he said. “I only have one person writing my opening monologue — yours truly. And my jokes are a heck of a lot funnier.”
He added: “Colbert went from cracking jokes to becoming the joke. His hatred of conservatives destroyed one of the great success stories of late night television.”
President Trump did extend an olive branch of sorts, posting this message on Truth Social:
“Stephen Colbert’s firing from CBS was the ‘Beginning of the End’ for untalented, nasty, highly overpaid, not funny, and very poorly rated Late Night Television Hosts. Others, of even less talent, to soon follow. May they all Rest in Peace! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”