Jon Stewart rips CBS over Colbert cancellation: 'F---ing wrong'
Comedian Jon Stewart tore into CBS on Monday for canceling "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert, which the network described as a "financial" decision.
Stewart, during the latest episode of "The Daily Show," defended his friend and raised the possibility that the move could be an effort to appease President Trump, who has railed against Colbert at times on social media.
“Watching Stephen exceed all expectations in the role and become the number one late-night show on television has been an undeniable great pleasure for me as a viewer and as his friend, and now Stephen has been canceled for purely financial reasons,” he said. “And by the way, not just Stephen’s show. CBS has canceled the entirety of The Late Show franchise. Gone."
“Now I acknowledge, losing money. Late-night TV is a struggling financial model. We’re all basically operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records," the comedian continued. "But when your industry is faced with changes, you don’t just call it a day. My God — when CDs stopped selling, they didn’t just go, ‘Oh well, music, it’s been a good run.’”
Stewart noted he's curious why CBS, which is owned by Paramount Global, did not do more to save the flagship program.
He said, “The fact that CBS didn’t try to save their number one rated network late-night franchise that’s been on the air for over three decades is part of what’s making everybody wonder, was this purely financial?"
“Or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger with killing a show that you know rankled a fragile and vengeful president, so insecure, suffering terribly from a case of chronic penis insufficiency,” the late-show veteran added. “Truly it’s a vicious disease.”
Paramount is working to secure a multi-billion-dollar merger with fellow entertainment giant Skydance, a transaction that will need approval from Trump’s government regulators.
The company also agreed to pay Trump earlier this month to settle a $16 million lawsuit the president filed against CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Harris during the 2024 presidential election.
“Look, I understand the corporate fear. I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake. But understand this, truly: The shows that you now seek to cancel, censor, and control — a not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those f---ing shows," he said. "That’s what made you that money — shows that say something, shows that take a stand, shows that are unafraid.”
“Believe me, this is not a ‘We speak truth to power.’ We don’t. We speak opinions to television cameras, but we try. We f---ing try every night," Stewart added.
The host continued, “And if you believe, as corporations or as networks, you can make yourselves so innocuous that you can serve a gruel so flavorless that you will never again be on the boy king’s radar, A) Why will anyone watch you? And you are f---ing wrong.”
Stewart also lamented the “the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America’s institutions at this very moment,” suggesting that is the real reason Colbert’s show is ending.
“Institutions that have chosen not to fight the vengeful and vindictive actions of our pubic-hair-doodling commander-in-chief,” he said. “This is not the moment to give in. I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere… I think.”
The "Late Show" host also railed against his employer over the decision on Monday and pressed back against Trump's criticism. Other late night show hosts — including Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, have also stood behind Colbert, who has hosted the show since 2015.