David Letterman slams “gutless” CBS for Stephen Colbert cancellation
David Letterman, who hosted The Late Show from 1993 to 2015, has expressed solidarity with Stephen Colbert and has hit out at CBS for their “gutless” decision amid the show’s cancellation.
It comes days after Colbert announced that his long-running chat show would be leaving the air in May 2026, in what the network CBS called “purely a financial decision.” However, Colbert recently publicly criticised his network’s lawsuit with Donald Trump, which has led to much public speculation about the real reason for the show’s cancellation.
Trump approved of the cancellation, writing on his Truth Social platform: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.” However, in response to these claims, Colbert hit back in his latest monologue by saying, “Now for the next ten months, the gloves are off.” He added, “Go fuck yourself.”
Now, David Letterman has weighed in on the conversation. He slammed the CBS parent company, Paramount Global, and David Ellison, who’s slated to become CEO after an $8.4 billion deal saw Paramount merge with Skydance Media.
Speaking on The Barbara Gaines Show on July 25th, the previous show host mused, “It’s all very strange. It’s very complicated, but it was a bit of a surprise, wasn’t it?”
Letterman went on to parody Paramount executives: “Not only are we going to get rid of that guy, we’re going to get rid of the whole franchise, so you don’t have to worry about another guy. It’s gone, buddy!”
He doubted that the decision was “purely financial,” stating, “I don’t think it was money. I think it was all to make sure (Ellison was) solid spending dad’s (Larry Ellison’s) money.” He suggested Ellison “doesn’t want any trouble along the lines of freedom of the press or free speech or freedom of expression. They don’t want to get their hands dirty; they don’t want the government going after them.”
He made his disdain clear, commenting, “They did not do the correct thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled. One day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed because this is gutless.”
A scathing statement from the president of the union representing the musicians of The Late Show has deemed the recent news of its cancellation a form of “censorship.” The statement added, “Now, more urgently than ever, is a time for courage, not cowardice. CBS’s decision is about much more than just a late night talk show. When an administration tries to silence criticism and dissent by asserting its power, we all need to take notice.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.