Stephen Colbert says CBS banned him from interviewing Democrat state representative
Stephen Colbert has claimed he was barred by CBS from interviewing Democrat state representative James Talarico on The Late Show.
During the broadcast, which aired on February 16th, Colbert lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes saga with CBS. He claimed they had stopped Talarico from being interviewed due to fears over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sanctioning them for impartiality.
Colbert told viewers, “Texas state representative James Talarico. He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
The late-night host continued, “Then, I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly does not want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
He then explained that it was the FCC’s “equal time” rule that CBS used as their reasoning for preventing the interview from going ahead on the network. The rule means that broadcasters must dedicate the same amount of time to politicians of both major parties.
While late-night shows used to be able to get around this due to the “bona fide news” exemption, FCC chair Brendan Carr recently tightened up the regulation.
Colbert questioned this rule change, stating, “It’s no surprise that two of the people most affected by this threat are me and my friend Jimmy Kimmel.”
While the interview with Talarico didn’t make it to the air, Colbert has posted the conversation on his YouTube channel.
Colbert is set to leave CBS following the end of his contract in May. The broadcaster currently has no plans to keep the late-night format alive with a new host, citing cost-cutting measures as the reason for Colbert not being renewed.
The Talarico interview, being posted on YouTube, could be a glimpse into Colbert’s future, which would allow him to broadcast freely without the restrictions that come with being on CBS.
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