Senate Democrats, Writers Guild See Political Motivation Behind CBS Canceling Colbert Show
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., several Senate Democrats and the Writers Guild of America are questioning whether CBS’ Thursday announcement that it’s canceling The Late Show, hosted by Stephen Colbert, stemmed from Trump administration pressure related to the federal review of Skydance’s $8 billion purchase of network owner Paramount Global. That company recently reached a $16 million settlement in President Donald Trump's lawsuit over CBS’ editing of a 60 Minutes interview last October with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Some attorneys see that settlement as aimed at easing the path to FCC approval of Skydance's deal, but Paramount has denied those claims (see 2507020053).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks and CBS executives said that the decision to cancel The Late Show, effective next May, was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” Trump said Thursday night on Truth Social that he “absolutely love[d] that [Colbert] got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”
The Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West on Friday urged New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) “to join California and launch an investigation into potential wrongdoing at Paramount” following The Late Show’s cancellation. The groups have “significant concerns" that the move "is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval.” They noted that Colbert slammed the CBS lawsuit settlement on-air as a “big fat bribe.”
The Writers Guild groups noted that for “ten years, [The Late Show] has been one of the most successful, beloved and profitable programs on CBS, entertaining an audience of millions on late night television, on streaming services and across social media.” Cancellations “are part of the business, but a corporation terminating a show in bad faith due to explicit or implicit political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society,” they said. “Paramount’s decision comes against a backdrop of relentless attacks on a free press by” the administration, including Trump’s CBS lawsuit.
Sanders and Democrats are also questioning the timing of The Late Show’s cancellation. “CBS’s billionaire owners pay Trump $16 million to settle a bogus lawsuit while trying to sell the network to Skydance,” Sanders said. “Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late night host, slams the deal. Days later, he's fired. Do I think this is a coincidence? NO.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said “America deserves to know if [Colbert’s] show was canceled for political reasons.” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who appeared as a guest on The Late Show on Thursday night after CBS announced the cancellation, likewise said that if “Paramount and CBS ended the [show] for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”