Stephen Colbert sent a message to those still suspicious about the timing of The Late Show‘s shocking cancellation.
“I do not dispute their rationale [that it was for financial reasons],” Colbert, 61, told The New York Times in an interview published Tuesday, April 28, when asked about viewers who are skeptical over what led to his late night talk show coming to an end. “I do make jokes about it.”
The comedian could see both sides of the argument.
“But I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn’t make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me,” he noted. “Because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit.”
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When CBS announced in July 2025 that The Late Show was ending, the news was met with immediate backlash. Network executives then released a statement addressing their decision, claiming it was not “related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount” but was instead due to finances.
Some were still skeptical about the move, since it came after an episode where Colbert spoke out about Paramount, CBS’ parent company, settling what he called “a nuisance lawsuit” brought by President Donald Trump. In his lawsuit, Trump, 79, alleged that 60 Minutes had unfairly edited an interview of Kamala Harris.
“It’s possible that two things can be true. Broadcast can be in trouble. They cannot monetize because of things like YouTube, because of the competition of streaming. They’ve got the books, and I do not have any desire to debate them over what they say their business model is and how it does not work for them anymore,” Colbert continued on Tuesday. “But less than two years before they called to say it’s over, they were very eager for me to be signed for a long time. So, something changed.”
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While Colbert is preparing for the show’s final episode on May 21, he’s trying not to dwell too much on what led to it going off the air. “It behooves me not, it ain’t ‘behoovy’ for me, to spend a lot of time thinking about that,” he added. “I have zero desire to have a contentious relationship with my network.”
He continued: “I’ve really liked working with CBS. They’ve been great partners. And I’d like to end it that way. 11 years is a long time to work here. And almost 10 years before that, almost 21 years altogether, in late night. I feel so much better to be ‘grateful for’ than to be ‘mad about.’”
Colbert was also asked about his plans once The Late Show is done — including whether he still plans to stay on top of the news cycle.
“Now I can be as interested as I want to be on a daily basis, as opposed to as interested as I need to be to do a show that is about what our national conversation was about,” he added. “I can opt out of the national conversation for a day or two. I mean, I’m an American. I still care about my country. I’m still going to care, but I can do that recreationally, you know, or privately.”
