The big media controversy of the day comes courtesy of Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and late-night television host Stephen Colbert.
Talarico insisted that CBS spiked his interview with Stephen Colbert, claiming, “This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see. His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.
His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.
Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas. <a href="https://t.co/BCev5jZbKc">pic.twitter.com/BCev5jZbKc</a>
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) <a href="https://twitter.com/jamestalarico/status/2023659473466687994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @jamestalarico/X.com
Talarico is the probable Senate nominee for the Democrats in Texas and has been highly touted by a wide variety of people across the political spectrum, including Joe Rogan, on whose show he appeared.
But the reason CBS spiked the interview is because they&#8217;re afraid of the so-called Equal Time Rule. The FCC says that in a Senate primary, if you provide time to one candidate, you also have to provide equal time to the other candidates. CBS then said they didn’t want to provide equal time to Talarico’s rivals, including Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett or some other fringe candidate. Colbert then went on the air and ripped into CBS.
At this point, Colbert is hoping that he is fired so he can be treated as a victim — a victim of the Trump administration and their evil acolytes like Larry and David Ellison. Since that is his goal, he is actively attempting to militate for his own dismissal.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2370-dave-chappelle-has-lost-it"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
That is what he is doing right now. So, after the interview, he went on the air and said:
<blockquote>You might have heard of this thing called the Equal Time rule. Okay. It&#8217;s an old FCC rule that applies only to radio on broadcast television, not cable or streaming, that says if a show has a candidate on during an election, they have to have all that candidate&#8217;s opponents on as well. It’s the FCC&#8217;s most time honored rule right after no nipples at the Super Bowl. There&#8217;s long been an exception for this rule, an exception for news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians.
Now that&#8217;s crucial. How else were voters supposed to know back in 92 that Bill Clinton sucked at saxophone? But on January 21 of this year, a letter was released by FCC chairman and smug bowling pin Brendan Carr. In this letter, Carr said he was thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because he said some of them were motivated by partisan purposes. Well, sir, you&#8217;re chairman of the FCC, so FCC you. </blockquote>
Brendan Carr is correct. Colbert is obviously motivated by partisan purposes. When was the last time he had a major Republican guest? Can you name one? When has he invited a major Republican guest on his show and treated that person with the same sort of kid gloves with which he treats Democrats?
Every episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is basically an ad for one Democrat or another. It is MS NOW with some bad jokes.
CBS responded:
<blockquote>THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.</blockquote>
First, Colbert and his team tried to retell the lie that the FCC had overtly banned CBS from airing the interview with Talarico. That was not true. 
Then, he tried to retell the lie that CBS banned the interview because they were afraid of Talarico. And if Colbert hosted Talarico, then presumably he would also have to host a Republican candidate in the Texas Senate race, like Sen. John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton.
That is not what the equal time rule says. In the middle of the primary season, Colbert would have had to host another Democrat, Representative Jasmine Crockett. And the producers of “The Late Show” decided not to promote the interview on the air because then they would have to do the same for other Democrats.
For what it&#8217;s worth, Talarico is basically a straight Pete Buttigieg. That is his entire schtick, down to the Pastor Pete routine.
If you can remember back that far, one of the most irritating facets of the “Pete Buttigieg for President” campaign — and what irritated me most — is when he would suddenly turn into the world&#8217;s worst Sunday School teacher and cite the Bible to say completely non-Biblical things. He would try to explain that the Bible has nothing to say about issues ranging from same-sex marriage to abortion, and that it&#8217;s just a social justice document drafted by the Democratic National Committee.
Now, Talarico is doing the same exact thing. He&#8217;s claiming that you&#8217;re a bad Christian if you believe that same-sex marriage is non-Biblical.
For the record, same-sex marriage is non-Biblical. There are many books of the Bible that reference this, not least of which is Leviticus.
Trying to do the Pastor Pete routine, Talarico declared:
<blockquote>Jesus gave us two commandments: Love God and love neighbor. And there was no exception to that second commandment. Love thy neighbor, regardless of race or gender or sexual orientation or immigration status or religious affiliation. And it&#8217;s why I have fought so hard for the separation of church and state in the state capital in Texas.</blockquote>
When Democrats try to reframe their own religiosity on the basis of “Jesus was a post- religious figure who was in favor of secular humanism” — I may not be a New Testament expert, but it seems to me that Jesus was, in his human form, a Jew growing up under Biblical law, and that Jesus as the creator of Christianity, proceeded to suggest that people ought to follow the precepts of Christianity rather exclusively.
I think that’s a non-controversial take on the Bible.
It&#8217;s amazing how far Democrats have moved in my lifetime. Democrats used to do this routine where they would say, Sure, the Bible says that abortion is bad, Christianity says abortion is bad. There is a long-standing, several thousand years old doctrine that abortion is not approved, that same-sex marriage is not approved, and that homosexual activity is a sin. These are long-standing religious traditions, but we have separation of church and state. In terms of public policy, I don&#8217;t believe in making public policy on the basis of Biblical law, because this is not a theocracy.
That used to be the Democratic stance, which I think is weak when it comes to trying to make peace with Christians, but at least it is arguable. The new Democratic standards are that the Bible is somehow a document that greenlights same-sex marriage and encourages abortion, and if you truly were a Christian, you would be in favor of all these things.
Talarico says, “Love thy neighbor means love thy neighbor, regardless of immigration status or sexual orientation.”
The Bible says you are supposed to love thy neighbor as thyself, but you are not supposed to love his sin. You&#8217;re not supposed to place a stumbling block in front of the blind. There’s the Biblical injunction, which is commonly presumed to mean that you are not supposed to allow your neighbor to go without redress. If he’s sinning, you&#8217;re supposed to warn him.
So, back to CBS: What’s happening at CBS right now is an attempt to scuttle the ownership change at CBS and also target Bari Weiss at CBS News.
It&#8217;s all about virtue signaling for the Democrats. It has nothing to do with reality.
Democratic lawmakers, for their part, are suggesting they&#8217;re now going to investigate CBS. Representative Darren Soto of Florida wrote, “FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s reign on unlawful censorship continues. This time he’s blocking Democratic candidates. @EnergyCommerce Dems will be investigating this outrage. A reckoning is coming.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s reign on unlawful censorship continues. This time he’s blocking Democratic candidates.<a href="https://twitter.com/EnergyCommerce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EnergyCommerce</a> Dems will be investigating this outrage. A reckoning is coming… <a href="https://t.co/56MmbYdfIR">https://t.co/56MmbYdfIR</a>
— Rep. Darren Soto (@RepDarrenSoto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDarrenSoto/status/2023767918023262264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: @RepDarrenSoto/X.com
All of this shows you what Democrats are going to do with Congress if they happen to win in 2026, which is to shut everything down.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Talarico, Colbert Cry Censorship As CBS Sets The Record Straight

Ben Shapiro

Bible

Brendan Carr

Democrats

Opinion

Republicans

Stephen Colbert

Television

Texas

The most explosive development in Texas’s high-stakes Senate race isn’t polling — it’s a late-night television appearance that never aired.
Democratic candidate James Talarico claimed that the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “refused to air” his interview with “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” dramatically declaring on social media, “This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see. His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.
His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.
Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas. <a href="https://t.co/BCev5jZbKc">pic.twitter.com/BCev5jZbKc</a>
&mdash; James Talarico (@jamestalarico) <a href="https://twitter.com/jamestalarico/status/2023659473466687994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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At a campaign rally on Tuesday, Talarico escalated further, alleging the FCC “colluded with corporate media executives at CBS … But I think it’s safe to say that their plan backfired.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
At a packed campaign rally, <a href="https://twitter.com/jamestalarico?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jamestalarico</a> says the FCC “colluded with corporate media executives at CBS” to keep his interview with Stephen Colbert off the air.
“But I think it&#39;s safe to say that their plan backfired,” Talarico says. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/txsen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#txsen</a> <a href="https://t.co/NABVRJZf4O">pic.twitter.com/NABVRJZf4O</a>
&mdash; Kayla Guo (@kaylaguo_) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaylaguo_/status/2023927855973863508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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That narrative quickly unraveled.
CBS issued a blunt statement contradicting both Talarico and host Stephen Colbert. The network said Colbert “was NOT prohibited” from airing the interview. Rather, lawyers advised the show that broadcasting it could trigger the FCC’s equal-time rule, potentially requiring comparable airtime for other Democratic candidates — including Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). CBS explained that the show opted to run the interview on YouTube with on-air promotion instead of navigating equal-time obligations on the broadcast.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This just in from CBS: &quot;THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and…
&mdash; Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/2023843159604596894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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In other words: no federal ban, no White House directive — just legal guidance and a programming decision.
CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that the FCC had recently sent a “letter of inquiry” to ABC regarding possible equal-time violations on “The View,” creating caution among network executives. The regulatory environment, executives believed, was uncertain. But limited FCC enforcement power and corporate risk management hardly amount to “collusion.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;But the scrutiny of ABC (which was first reported by Reuters on Feb. 7) weighed on CBS execs. There was a sense, I&#39;m told, that the regulatory environment is uncertain, and that caution is warranted&#8230; and that&#39;s why network lawyers called Colbert&#39;s show. <a href="https://t.co/pnkHIluHi9">pic.twitter.com/pnkHIluHi9</a>
&mdash; Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/2023969453889700310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Yet Talarico not only doubled down — he has also praised Colbert in glowing terms, telling him, “You have really shown people in this country what Christianity should be.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Texas Democrat James Talarico says Stephen Colbert embodies Christianity.
Colbert has&#8230;
&#8211; Compared ICE agents to Nazis &#8211; Defended pro-Hamas protesters &#8211; Called abortion a &quot;funny word&quot; &#8211; Likened Trump supporters to the Taliban.
We can&#39;t let Talarico become a Senator. <a href="https://t.co/nEe8dlp6MK">pic.twitter.com/nEe8dlp6MK</a>
&mdash; Christian Collins (@CollinsforTX) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinsforTX/status/2023864036321108186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
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That assertion is striking given Colbert’s own record. Colbert has <a href="https://www.wccsradio.com/2026/01/29/late-show-host-stephen-colbert-faces-backlash-for-obscene-attack-on-ice-agents/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">compared</a> ICE agents to Nazis, saying, “Yes, do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis. That’s an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces.”
Speaking of the word “abortion,” Colbert has <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2014/09/17/stephen-colbert-abortion-is-a-funny-word-just-like-guacamole/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said</a>, “It’s a funny word. It’s like guacamole.” He has compared Trump supporters to the Taliban, <a href="https://news.grabien.com/story/colbert-why-should-we-fight-radicals-afghanistan-when-we-hav">saying</a> in reference to January 6, “Why should our soldiers be fighting radicals in a Civil War in Afghanistan? We’ve got our own on Capitol Hill.”
All of this unfolds as the Texas Senate race intensifies. On the Republican side, Sen. John Cornyn battles Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a bruising primary that could head to a runoff. On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett leads Talarico in several polls, with demographic splits revealing a competitive contest. General election surveys show razor-thin margins against any top Republican.
But the defining controversy so far isn’t ideological positioning or fundraising totals. It’s a candidate alleging federal suppression — contradicted by the very network involved — while elevating a sharply partisan late-night comedian as a model of Christian witness. In a state like Texas, that combination may prove politically combustible.

Dem Cries ‘Trump Censorship’ Over Colbert Interview — CBS Has A Different Take

Donald Trump

James Talarico

Jasmine Crockett

Media

Politics

“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert is furious that CBS decided not to air an interview he did with Texas representative James Talarico (D) due to “equal time” laws, which require broadcast networks and radio stations to give equal time to all candidates in an election.
Colbert’s show is canceled and will air its last episode in May. But in the meantime, he’s not going quietly as he defied the network’s request that he not bring up the Talarico interview situation. The host threw a hissy fit during his Monday night episode.
&#8220;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,&#8221; Colbert said during his show Monday night. &#8220;And because my network clearly doesn&#8217;t want us to talk about this, let&#8217;s talk about this.&#8221;
The “Late Show” host explained the “equal time” rule, which has been in place since the 1930s, and explained why he believed the exceptions made in the 90s should continue forever.
“There’s long been an exception for this rule, an exception for news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians,” Colbert said. “That’s crucial. How else were voters supposed to know back in ’92 that Bill Clinton sucked at saxophone?”
“[FCC chair Brendan Carr] hasn’t done away with [the exceptions] yet, but my network is unilaterally enforcing it as if he had,” the host admitted.
Addressing Carr, he said, “FCC you … because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself, sir. Hey, you smelt it ’cause you dealt it. You are Dutch-ovening America’s airwaves.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Why CBS Didn&#039;t Broadcast Stephen Colbert&#039;s Interview With James Talarico" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oh7DPSP65JA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Let’s just call this what it is. Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV. He’s like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diapers. So it’s no surprise that two of the people most affected by this threat are me and my friend Jimmy Kimmel,” Colbert whined.
Colbert also told the audience that he was posting the interview on his YouTube channel and instructed them to find it there.
During the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ7Pz_59A">interview</a>, Talarico said he believed he was being censored because he had a good chance of winning.
&#8220;I think Donald Trump is worried that we&#8217;re about to flip Texas,&#8221; the Texas rep said. &#8220;This is the party that ran against cancel culture. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top.&#8221;
CBS announced last summer that “The Late Show,” which began in 1993, would conclude this year and not be replaced.
“This is 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,” the network said in a statement at the time.
One report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually.

Stephen Colbert Throws Hissy Fit Over CBS Enforcing Equal Time Rule, Nixing Dem Candidate Interview

Entertainment

CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night suggested that ICE officers and Border Patrol agents were worse than Nazis.
During his monologue on &#8220;The Late Show,&#8221; Colbert showed a clip of Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was discussing Alex Pretti, the leftist protester who was shot and killed by federal agents, with CNN’s Dana Bash.
“Dana, let&#8217;s look at why he was there in the first place,” Bovino said. “Was he simply walking by and just happened to walk into a law enforcement situation and try to direct traffic and stand in the middle of the road and then assault, delay and obstruct law enforcement? Or was he there for a reason? Did he fall victim to that violent and heated rhetoric by a [Minneapolis] Mayor [Jacob] Frey, a [Minnesota] Governor [Tim] Walz? Look, Dana, they&#8217;re trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi and many other words. Did this individual fall victim, as many others have, to that type of heated rhetoric?”
“Do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis,” Colbert intoned. “That’s an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Stephen Colbert: “Do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis. That’s an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces.”<a href="https://t.co/JzMbqTO3C9">pic.twitter.com/JzMbqTO3C9</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/2016860668075422041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The outgoing host, who recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-trump-late-night-host-stephen-colbert-reveals-date-of-final-show">revealed</a> his last episode will air on May 21, does have a habit of making offensive statements when it comes to conservatives; in November 2022, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wash-your-klan-robes-with-your-maga-hat-stephen-colbert-mocks-republicans-after-election-results">mocked</a> Republicans as &#8220;fascists&#8221; and Ku Klux Klan members a day after predictions of a red wave <a href="http://dailywire.com/news/republican-red-wave-stops-at-florida-as-initial-midterm-tallies-leave-house-senate-majorities-in-question/">failed to materialize</a> in the midterm elections.
Colbert, who in May 2022 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/18/stephen-colbert-future-republicans-primaries">said</a> the GOP was “choosing its direction for 2022: original recipe nutballs or extra crispy cuckoo cojones,” was giddy when Democrats performed better than expected. “As a performer, there are three things you don’t want to follow: animals, children, or a fascist takeover of your country,” Colbert taunted. “These results is (sic) a crisp nut-punch to Republican optimism leading up to this election.”
Colbert continued, citing headlines he&#8217;d apparently seen on the internet.
“&#8217;The vaunted red wave never hit the shore in mid-term elections,’&#8221; he said. &#8220;‘That’s not a red wave,’ and ‘The red wave was more like a pink splash.’”
“Yes, a pink splash,” Colbert said. “It was a salmon drizzle, a rosy wash. It&#8217;s like what happens when you accidentally wash your Klan robes with your MAGA hat. It&#8217;s just a little pink wash.”
Colbert has demonstrated his contempt for conservatives many times in the past. In March 2022, in the face of soaring gas prices devastating American consumers, Colbert <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/stephen-colberts-elitism-on-soaring-gas-prices-hell-ill-pay-15-a-gallon-because-i-drive-a-tesla/">mocked</a> struggling average Joes and said it was part of the price of backing Ukraine in its war with Russia.
&#8220;Today, the average gas price in America hit an all-time record high of over $4 a gallon,&#8221; he said. &#8220;OK, that stings, but a clean conscience is worth a buck or two. It’s important. I’m willing to pay $4/gallon. Hell, I’ll pay $15 a gallon because I drive a Tesla.”
Back in May 2019, the cold open for his show opened by mocking farmers, intimating that if their finances were hurt by President Trump’s tariffs targeting China, they would lose their wives to convicts, start stripping for a living, become alcoholics, and turn to growing marijuana.
The show began by playing a clip from a CNN report that claimed President Trump’s “trade war [is] having a major impact on American farmers after talks with China have halted. Some farmers seem to be losing hope.” That was followed by a clip of a farmer who said he had voted for Trump in 2016 but would not do so again.
The show then aired a cartoon titled “The Farmer in the Dell,” based on the famous children’s song, but this time with new lyrics, accompanied by the visuals in the cartoon:
<blockquote>
Tariffs posed by Trump 
Put the farmers in a dump 
Oh no, the derry-o, the farmer’s in a slump. 
The farmer lost his wife. 
She wants a better life. 
She ran off with an ex-convict who rides a b****in’ bike. 
The farmer needs a job. 
He’s stripping while he sobs. 
Hi-ho the stripper pole, they’re laughing at his knob. 
The farmer drinks a lot, 
His liver starts to rot. 
Chuggitiy-chug the winey-o 
Time to start growing pot.
</blockquote>

Anti-Trump Late-Night Host Suggests ICE And Border Patrol Agents Are Worse Than Nazis

Border Patrol

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Nazis

U.S.

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“The Late Show” leftist host Stephen Colbert confirmed that his final episode will air May 21, saying that having a set end date makes the program’s conclusion feel more concrete.
Colbert told “Late Night” host Seth Meyers that his perspective has changed since last summer. “It feels real now,” Colbert said of knowing when his final show will be broadcast. “It did not feel… I know it was real, but now, there’s four months left.”
“What I really love is the people I do it with,” he continued. “There are people I’ve been working with… My shoemaker, Tom Purcell, I’ve known since 1988. And so, we’ve all been together forever.”
“You can do comedy a lot of different places,” Colbert went on. “There’s no place like the Ed Sullivan Theater, but it’s really the people. That’s really what I care about. That’s really what I’ll miss more than anything, and we’ll do something else together, but it feels real now. I’m not thrilled with it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/StephenAtHome?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@stephenathome</a> talks about what he’ll miss most about working at <a href="https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@colbertlateshow</a> <a href="https://t.co/VRBz1rvuxB">pic.twitter.com/VRBz1rvuxB</a>
— Late Night with Seth Meyers (@LateNightSeth) <a href="https://twitter.com/LateNightSeth/status/2016301107207676249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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CBS announced last summer that “The Late Show,” which began in 1993, would conclude this year and not be replaced. 
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” CBS said in a statement at the time. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.”
“This is 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,” it continued.
One report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually.
Colbert followed the announcement with an expletive-laced monologue in which he blasted President Donald Trump and CBS. During the segment, Colbert referenced Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, noting that it paid Trump a $16 million settlement after being accused of election interference.
George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS Entertainment, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-exec-comments-on-late-show-cancellation-said-it-wasnt-sustainable?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=CBS+Exec+Comments+On+%E2%80%98Late+Show%E2%80%99+Cancellation%2C+Said+It+%E2%80%98Wasn%E2%80%99t+Sustainable%E2%80%99">reiterated later</a> that the decision was purely financial and said that “The Late Show” was losing “significant” amounts in the “tens of millions of dollars.”
“At the end of the day, it just wasn’t sustainable to continue,” Cheeks confirmed. 
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Anti-Trump Late-Night Host Stephen Colbert Reveals Date Of Final Show

The year in pop culture gave us reality stars smiting governors, a Coldplay concert going viral for nothing music-related, and a pop star’s career crashing upon re-entry.
And even though late-night TV had begun to fizzle out years ago, in 2025, Stephen Colbert and co. watched their gigs finally go up in smoke.
It’s impossible to look back on the last 12 months and not gawk at late-night propagandists getting their just desserts.
For Colbert of “The Late Show” fame, that meant getting a time-release pink slip. Someone finally crunched some serious numbers behind the scenes and realized Colbert’s DNC agenda is costing CBS a pretty penny … <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/go-f-yourself-colbert-unleashes-anti-trump-tirade-amid-report-his-show-loses-40m-annually">$40 million a year</a>, to be precise.
So Colbert was forced to read his professional obituary on-air. And the show won’t even go on without him. Come May, “The Late Show” heads to the dustbin of history alongside eight-track tapes and TiVo devices.
<div id="attachment_1021603" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021603" class="size-large wp-image-1021603" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Jimmy Kimmel during Tuesday's September 30, 2025 show. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images</div>
Fellow progressive Jimmy Kimmel was spared that fate, but not by much. The ABC host insinuated MAGA nation fired the bullet that killed conservative hero Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, setting off a series of events that led to Kimmel’s week-long suspension.
He got his job back and a tepid show of support via a one-year contract extension. The damage was done. Kimmel’s “Man Show” past and irreverent shtick is no more. Now, he’s more likely to cry on-camera than make us howl.
His only hope is that Colbert’s audience tunes in for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” come May, delaying his show’s inevitable cancellation.
On the film front, theaters once again struggled to reclaim their pre-pandemic mojo. The box office receipts looked awfully similar to 2024, hardly a golden age for theatrical attendance.
Films like “Superman,” “Thunderbolts” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” failed to duplicate that ol’ superhero magic, leaving it to video game adaptations like “A Minecraft Movie” to pick up the slack.
At least we weren’t subjected to <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/skibidi-toilet-michael-bay-movie-adam-goodman-1236077245/">“Skibidi Toilet: The Movie</a>.” Not yet, at least. 
Meanwhile, Hollywood’s far-Left agenda got a workout via “One Battle After Another.” The Paul Thomas Anderson screed so overtly progressive even some Antifa types might cry foul.
And, of course, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/is-the-best-picture-race-already-over">it’s bound for Oscar glory come March</a>.
Speaking of Oscars, 2025 saw an awards hopeful crash and burn in record time. The woke musical comedy “Emilia Pérez” seemed likely to dominate awards season until we learned some of the less-than-progressive comments made by its trans lead, Karla Sofia Gascón.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce finally made their courtship official, but the best news for football fans is that his Kansas City Chiefs missed the playoffs. That means no more obligatory “Taylor is crying/cheering/laughing” shots interrupting the NFL action.
<div id="attachment_1021607" style="width: 865px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021607" class="size-large wp-image-1021607" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-855x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 06: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) presents actor Sylvester Stallone (R) a medal for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees during a medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House on December 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. The 2025 Kennedy Center honorees are Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, the rock band KISS, Gloria Gaynor, and Michael Crawford. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)" width="855" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-855x576.jpg 855w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-768x518.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 855px) 100vw, 855px" />Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images</div>
Sylvester Stallone capped a remarkable career by picking up a Kennedy Center Honor at long last, courtesy of former reality show star and two-term president Donald Trump. The 79-year-old legend also defied Father Time by returning for the third season of Taylor Sheridan’s “Tulsa King.”
Of course, it would be impossible to recap entertainment in 2025 without a tip of the hat to Taylor Sheridan, television’s undisputed king of rugged episodic dramas. From “The Mayor of Kingstown” to the “Yellowstone” franchise, Sheridan’s shows keep attracting A-list talent and plenty of eyeballs. And he’s positioned to strike gold again in 2026 with the release of the next “Yellowstone” spinoff, “Y: Marshals,” starring Luke Grimes.
Sheridan made headlines once again in 2025 by signing a mega-deal with NBCUniversal and having his “Landman” series skewer the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-sheridan-show-landman-mocks-the-view-bunch-of-ped-off-millionaires">“p***ed off millionaires” of “The View.”</a>
<div id="attachment_1021611" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021611" class="size-large wp-image-1021611" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-864x576.jpg" alt="INDIO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 30: Taylor Sheridan speaks onstage during Day 3 of the 2023 Stagecoach Festival on April 30, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Stagecoach)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Stagecoach</div>
The devastating Palisades fires should have roasted Governor Gavin Newsom’s political fortunes for good. Not quite, but reality show alum Spencer Pratt made it his mission to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/reality-star-spencer-pratt-slams-california-plan-to-build-low-income-housing-in-fire-ravaged-areas">shame both Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass</a> for their extreme incompetence.
“Having the people in charge of the town they just let burn down make any decisions in rebuilding it … seems crazy to me,” Pratt said in one of many well-earned rants. Podcaster Adam Carolla piled on, filing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8IKPIDVIoY">vlog posts</a> decrying the lack of progress on the home building front all year long.
HBO Max’s “The White Lotus” became the show everyone talked about at the cyber-water cooler – AKA Elon Musk’s X. This season’s ick factor likely played a part, thanks to guest star <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/sam-rockwell-white-lotus-monologue-acting-coach-1236175014/">Sam Rockwell’s disturbing revelations</a> to that <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/the-white-lotus-brothers-kiss-season-3-1236164899/">brotherly buss</a> with Ah-nold’s son getting too much attention.
And while the culture remains hopelessly divided on political grounds, Americans did unite to mock a Coldplay concert moment that went insanely viral. A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/viral-coldplay-kiss-cam-woman-speaks-out-is-furious-with-gwyneth-paltrow">Kiss Cam caught Kristin Cabot</a> canoodling with her boss, Andrew Byron, a moment that proved inescapable for anyone remotely online.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-969733 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-1022x576.png" alt="Coldplay concert" width="1022" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-1022x576.png 1022w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-768x433.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert.png 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px" /></div>
Netflix remained atop the streaming heap, and its plans to swallow Warner Bros. will have sizable implications for Hollywood and beyond. The streamer’s signature show, a four-episode saga dubbed “Adolescence,” caught everyone by surprise. Each installment, shot in a single take, captured a young boy in the weeks following his arrest for a shocking murder. Must-see TV? Perhaps, but it left audiences feeling queasy for the next generation.
If that wasn’t enough, 2025 had us focus on the Sean Combs trial. Sure, we cracked wise about baby oil sales, but the particulars of P. Diddy’s life and alleged crimes made us wonder what else is happening behind the scenes in Hollywood that we won’t hear about for years to come?
<div id="attachment_1021623" style="width: 842px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021623" class="size-large wp-image-1021623" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-832x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 11: Katy Perry performs onstage during Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour - New York at Madison Square Garden on August 11, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for KP)" width="832" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-832x576.jpg 832w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-300x208.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-768x532.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 832px) 100vw, 832px" />Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for KP</div>
And then there’s Katy Perry.
The “I Kissed a Girl” superstar headed into space, or at least a small part of it, via Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard rocket. The experiment became social media fodder, in part due to the “astronaut&#8217;s’” inflated sense of self.
Perry might have been better off staying in orbit. She <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/katy-perry-experiences-frightening-onstage-mishap-concert-san/story?id=123894140">experienced not one</a> but <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1420864/katy-perrys-bloody-knee-injury-photo">two</a> concert accidents, watched her choreography get roasted on social media, and capped 2025 by winning a legal victory over a <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/11/28/entertainment/katy-perry-to-receive-1-8m-payout-from-dying-veteran-in-years-long-battle-over-montecito-mansion/">dying military veteran</a>.
She’ll be lucky to Dance with Any Stars come 2026.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-US-ENTERTAINMENT-CBS-LATE SHOW-COLBERT

The Year Pop Culture Finally Began To Eat Its Own

Film

Hollywood

Jimmy Kimmel

Katy Perry

Movies

Music

Taylor Swift

Woke Culture

It’s common knowledge that late-night shows skew to the Left, but the extent of the issue is far worse than most people realize. 
A report <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/20/us-news/late-night-is-getting-more-radical-with-number-of-jokes-targeting-right-up-10-in-2025-to-92/?utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_social_post_id=628779175&amp;utm_social_handle_id=17469289&amp;utm_source=twitter">published</a> by The New York Post last week found that 92% of jokes over the past year have been targeted at conservatives, representing a 10% increase compared to last year. The report was based on an analysis from media watchdog NewsBusters, which sifted through 818 episodes put out by the major mainstream late-night hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers.
Those shows included 197 liberal guests and only two who were conservative, Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld and economist Oren Cass. 
NewsBusters found that Kimmel was the worst offender, making jokes targeting conservatives more than 3,000 times and focusing most of his ire on President Donald Trump. Of those jokes, 1,668 were about the sitting president. 
Other late-night hosts also mocked the commander-in-chief. Across the spectrum of hosts, there were more than 7,000 Trump jokes over the course of this year, representing a big uptick from last year. 
“The numbers don’t lie,” Media Research Center president David Bozell said, per the Post. “So-called late-night comedians are part of the entire elitist media complex that has fueled hatred of conservatives for years.”
It’s an interesting approach to take in the wake of Trump’s massive victory in the 2024 election. Late night is not doing well, and it shows. CBS announced in July that it was canceling “The Late Show” after the upcoming season, which inspired outsized reactions from the left. The network described the move as a “purely financial decision.” A report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually.
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Colbert went off on an expletive-laced tirade during his first monologue following the announcement, blasting President Donald Trump and CBS. Colbert mentioned how the network’s parent company, Paramount Global, paid Trump a $16 million settlement after being accused of election interference.
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show saw a sharp spike in viewership after he returned from being taken off the air briefly in September. Kimmel was taken off the air for a short time after comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The saga began when Kimmel was accused of slandering conservatives when he suggested Kirk’s assassin was part of the “MAGA gang,” despite authorities saying otherwise. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time.
Kimmel’s post-suspension return drew a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmels-ratings-spike-crashes-back-down-to-his-usual-terrible-numbers">record-breaking</a> 6.3 million viewers, more than triple his regular audience. A few days later, those numbers had dropped by 64%, leveling off at 2.3 million.

JIMMY KIMMEL

Late Night Hosts Targeted Conservatives 92% Of The Time, Made More Than 7,000 Trump Jokes In 2025

Late Night Hosts Targeted Conservatives 92% Of The Time, Made More Than 7,000 Trump Jokes: Report

Jimmy Fallon

Prince Harry is getting backlash for his appearance on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” on Wednesday night, even getting booed by the audience for making a quip about President Trump.
The estranged British royal family member participated in an awkward skit. “I genuinely thought this was the audition for the Gingerbread Prince saves Christmas in Nebraska,” Meghan Markle’s husband said while coming out onto the stage.
Harry joked he wanted to go into acting because he knew Americans were “obsessed” with Christmas movies and royalty. Colbert pretended to disagree, prompting Prince Harry to say, “Really? I heard you elected a king.” 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Will Prince Harry Ever Get To Be A Hallmark Christmas Movie Prince?" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/plsvrxGZnyA?start=179&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Even Colbert’s audience reacted to the joke with booing and other noises of dissent. 
“That’s a fair point, he’s got a point,” the late show host told the crowd.
“And often making such a big deal about my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather George III,” Harry added, referencing the king of Great Britain during the American Revolution.
While Trump’s name was only referenced once, the Duke of Sussex alluded to him again during his appearance while saying all the things he&#8217;d do to become a Hallmark movie prince. 
“I’ll record a self-tape, I’ll fly myself to an audition, settle a baseless lawsuit with the White House. All the things you people on TV do,” Harry said, referencing the $16 million settlement Paramount paid Trump over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris ahead of last year’s election.
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“Harry, I didn’t do any of those things,” Colbert said.
“Maybe that’s why you’re canceled,” the British royal replied.
Colbert and Prince Harry ended their cringe skit by embracing awkwardly as fake snow fell on them. 
Some Americans have called on Trump to add Prince Harry to his list of people to deport, but the president addressed the matter earlier this year, joking about the British royal’s marriage.
“I don’t want to [deport Prince Harry],” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-hes-not-targeting-prince-harry-for-deportation-enough-problems-with-his-wife?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Says+He%E2%80%99s+Not+Targeting+Prince+Harry+For+Deportation%3A+%E2%80%98Enough+Problems+With+His+Wife%E2%80%99">told</a> The New York Post in February. “I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”
Although Trump has not targeted Prince Harry for deportation, he has been vocal about his feelings for the self-exiled royal. In February 2024, Trump accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of “protecting Harry” and said he couldn’t promise the same.
“He betrayed the queen. That’s unforgivable,” President Trump told the U.K.’s Daily Express in an interview at the time. 
The royal couple has also voiced negative feelings about Trump over the years. During the 2016 presidential race, Markle called the president “divisive” and “misogynistic,” prompting Trump to call her statements about him “nasty.”
In 2020, Trump said he wasn’t “a fan” of Markle.
“I’m not a fan of hers and I would say this, and she probably has heard that, but I wish a lot of luck to Harry … because he’s going to need it,&#8221; Trump said.

Colbert and Prince Harry

Prince Harry Booed After Trump Quip During Awkward Appearance On Colbert

Prince Harry Booed After Mocking Trump During Colbert Appearance

Prince Harry

Late-night host Stephen Colbert just admitted that shows like his are meant to instruct viewers on how to think.
The host of “The Late Show” was attempting to defend the existence of the late-night genre during a recent <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/stephen-colbert-gq-cover-story-interview-men-of-the-year-2025">interview</a> with GQ.
While speaking on the topic, Colbert said, “Well, we are like your friend who at the end of the day paid attention to what happened today more than you did. And then we curate that back to you at the end of the day.”
“But it’s really more about how we feel about—or I, as the person who is the vehicle for that—how we felt about today. All those things that might’ve made you confused, angry, or anxious or happy or surprised or something like that,” Colbert added. “I share those feelings with the audience and they laugh or they don’t laugh. And there’s a sense of community there.”
The host claimed that “these late-night shows are for millions of Americans a third space to come together and think about the day.”
Social media commenters couldn’t help but notice that Colbert was basically admitting to influencing his audience into certain reactions.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 NEW: Stephen Colbert Says the Role of Late Night TV is to Tell You How to Think About the News
“We&#8217;re like your friend who … paid attention to the news more than you did … and then we curate that back to you at the end of the day. But it&#8217;s really more about how we feel… <a href="https://t.co/w2PNiOL7Gz">pic.twitter.com/w2PNiOL7Gz</a>
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1986765425246441743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Amazing admission. Basically late night TV is [propaganda.] They&#8217;ll tell you what to think,” one X user <a href="https://x.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1986765425246441743">marveled</a>.
“He said the quiet part out loud,” another person <a href="https://x.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1986767863701524575">wrote</a>.
“Hence his decline into irrelevance. Anyone taking guidance from this narcissist needs to seek immediate help,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/HawkeyePilot/status/1986774581751730592">chimed in</a>.
CBS announced in July that it was canceling “The Late Show” after the upcoming season, which inspired outsized reactions from the Left. The network described the move as a “purely financial decision.” A report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually.
Colbert went off on an expletive-laced tirade during his first monologue following the announcement, blasting President Donald Trump and CBS. Colbert mentioned how the network’s parent company, Paramount Global, paid Trump a $16 million settlement after being accused of election interference.
Other late-night mainstays such as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon came to Colbert’s defense, saying the reports claiming that “The Late Show” was losing tens of millions were “nonsensical.”

Stephen Colbert Says Quiet Part Out Loud, Admits Late-Night TV Tells You How To Think

Propaganda

Late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert admitted that President Trump did a good thing by negotiating a peace deal in the Middle East that led to the release of Israeli hostages &#8212; but they couldn’t help but temper their praise with criticism and rants, as per usual.
“What a day for Donald Trump,” Kimmel said on Monday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“You know what? He finally did something positive today and I want to give him credit for it, because I know he’s not the type to take credit for himself,” Kimmel said during his monologue. “While we’re only in the first phase of what will undoubtedly be a long and tricky process, but the fact is the bombing has stopped, the hostages have been released, and Trump deserves some of the praise for that. So I know it sounds crazy to say, but good work on that one, President Trump.”
Kimmel couldn’t resist throwing in some snark, however. “Now maybe you can not invade Portland. Just an idea,” the late night host added.
“Trump’s been lobbying hard to try to win the Nobel Prize for peace,” he went on. “Now Trump’s focused on winning the prize next year, which is fine. Let him keep trying to make peace. I’m fine with coming up with prizes and trophies to motivate. Give them the ‘Nobel Re-Open the Government and Leave Healthcare Alone’ prize.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Grandest Asian Gaming Space on the East Coast!" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IOyDulT0qCo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Stephen Colbert also mentioned Trump’s peace deal during “The Late Show” on CBS.
“There is some good news out there today: Thanks to Trump’s newly-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, all living Israeli hostages and almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released,” the host said as the audience clapped and cheered. “It’s important. Credit where credit is due — Donald Trump did something good.”
Colbert paused then joked, “Are we still canceled? You sure? I tried,” referencing how the show will air its final episode in May 2026, as the network previously announced.
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“It’s kind of surprising to see him do something good,” Colbert marveled. “It reminds me of in &#8216;The Empire Strikes Back&#8217; when Darth Vader revealed this shocking secret.” The host then played a modified clip in which Darth Vader tells Luke he is an organ donor.
“Despite the deal on Friday, in a truly foreseeable turn of events, Trump did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize,” Colbert added. “How dare you, Nobel Committee? The man is a paragon of peace. He walks in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. … After losing his campaign for the thing you don’t campaign for, Trump said he didn’t do the peace deal for the Nobel. And the White House communications director, Steven Chung, agreed, saying, ‘President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian.’ We removed that heart from one of the detainees in our ICE facilities. He keeps it in the Oval Office next to the Diet Coke button in a little bowl.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="A Doozy Of A Week | No Nobel Prize | Trump’s War On America | Water Safety Authorities Fired" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DeAsGze2onQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Colbert also claimed that President Trump was causing turmoil in the United States while brokering peace deals overseas, trying to say that the president enforcing immigration laws was equivalent to “terrorizing communities.”
The late night host said he “agreed” with Trump’s statements about how he believed he most likely wasn’t going to heaven.
“While Trump tries to bring peace to the Middle East, he’s trying just as hard to bring war to the Midwest,” Colbert said. “And personally, I’m horrified to see how he’s stomping on my old stomping grounds of Chicago, Illinois, where I lived for over a decade. ICE has been terrorizing communities in the Windy City, going door-to-door in front of elementary schools, arresting immigrants, legal or otherwise, arresting U.S. citizens without any due process and tear-gassing journalists who are merely reporting on what they’re doing.”
Colbert’s show has been canceled, and Kimmel’s show was suspended last month after remarks he made about the man who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The suspension was panned by Kimmel and his supporters as an attack on free speech, and they blamed it on pressure from the Trump administration.

Colbert and Kimmel

Kimmel, Colbert Praise Trump For Peace Deal, Then Mock Him

Israel

Peace Deal

The National Security Advisor during President Donald Trump&#8217;s first term said he was asked to go on CBS&#8217;s “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert in 2024, but only if he would denounce Trump and tell the audience not to vote for him.
Retired United States Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster made the revelation during a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OAiiaiGMVI&amp;list=PLKruweaZqDNetb7uwJF1vS0mzmaTe8Kzg&amp;index=1">episode</a> of the GoodFellows podcast, a weekly Hoover Institution broadcast. Moderator Bill Whalen mentioned that late shows have “drifted to the Left,” which prompted McMaster&#8217;s response.
“When my book ‘At War With Ourselves’ came out, my publicist said, &#8216;Hey, you know, the Stephen Colbert show said you could come on, but if you come on you have to condemn President Trump and recommend that nobody vote for him,&#8217;” McMaster said.
The retired lieutenant general said it was an “easy choice” to decide against the appearance, but noted how it points to the political sway of late-night programs in general.
“I don’t know if it was just a producer or if it was Stephen Colbert directly, but you know, there has been this orthodoxy that has gripped late-night television. So many of these monologues, honestly…they’re just like diatribes. They’re not funny. Which might be why the ratings are going down.”
The controversy over late-night shows and free speech has reached a fever pitch, with leftists crying &#8220;censorship&#8221; and conservatives pointing out that this has been happening to right-wing entertainers for years. ABC&#8217;s late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, was briefly taken off the air for spreading false information about Charlie Kirk&#8217;s suspected assassin.
All the other major late-night hosts, including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jon Stewart, spoke out in support of Kimmel, but are being labeled as hypocrites by anyone who noticed that they had previously been in favor of conservatives being silenced for perceived slights. 
Clips of Kimmel joking about Roseanne Barr&#8217;s show getting canceled for controversial comments went viral just after he was suspended, with followers pointing out the blatant hypocrisy. Kimmel can also be seen celebrating President Trump being banned from X and Tucker Carlson getting fired from Fox News.
McMaster said the answer isn’t government “crackdowns,” but letting low ratings bury the shows.
Representatives from &#8216;The Late Show&#8217; did not respond to a request for comment.

Donald Trump/Stephen Colbert

Free Speech? Former White House Official Says Colbert Would Only Book Him If He Trashed Trump

Former White House Official Says Colbert Would Only Book Him If He Trashed Trump

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster

The entire media and the Left are filled with rage and anguish today — but not over Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.
The outpouring of support for Jimmy Kimmel in the media is overwhelming.
Let&#8217;s start with the things we know about Jimmy Kimmel going off the air. Number one, Jimmy Kimmel&#8217;s ratings were horrifyingly low. Remember, he was a network television late-night host. And in 2025, only 1.6 million people were viewing his show, being broadcast for free on network TV across the country.
In the advertiser-coveted demographic model, ages 25 to 54, the decline was even more significant. Are you ready for this? In 2015, he had a million viewers in that age range. By 2025, he had, I kid you not, 261,000 people in that age range watching his show.
My <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-ben-shapiro-show">show</a> is multiple times larger than Jimmy Kimmel&#8217;s show. Over on Fox in 2025, Greg Gutfeld averaged 3.2 million total viewers, even though it&#8217;s on a cable channel. It’s not even network TV. When it comes to that 25-to-54 demographic, Gutfeld was averaging 381,000 people compared to 261,000 for Kimmel, meaning that Gutfeld was ahead of him by 46%.
So it’s quite possible that a bunch of local affiliates were simply done with Jimmy Kimmel. And when Kimmel decided that he was going to go on air and suggest that the shooter of Charlie Kirk was a MAGA conservative, they&#8217;d had it. Many of these station owners, these local stations, are not owned directly by ABC. They&#8217;re owned by local television networks or by a consortium like Sinclair.
Sinclair Broadcasting happens to be politically conservative in its orientation. There have been longtime rumors of Sinclair trying to launch its own form of Fox News, essentially with its own lineup. So it is perfectly plausible that Sinclair looked at what Jimmy Kimmel said and felt, “You know what? We&#8217;re done. We&#8217;re not interested anymore.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2284-bss-member-exclusive"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a> 
What also happened is that the local affiliates went to ABC. They said, “We don&#8217;t want him on the air.” And ABC responded by basically saying, “If half of our affiliates don&#8217;t want you on the air, we&#8217;re just going to suspend your show because what else are we going to do? You have to provide them with some programming.” 
Sinclair announced it would yank “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its stations until the host apologized directly to Charlie Kirk&#8217;s family and also donated to TPUSA, which, of course, was never going to happen. The company vowed not to return Kimmel&#8217;s show “until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network&#8217;s commitment to professionalism and accountability.” 
Apparently, Jimmy Kimmel had been planning to double down on his remarks.The reason he was abruptly pulled is because he was planning on doing another monologue the next night where he ripped into MAGA. 
According to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/18/media/ujimmy-kimmel-refused-to-apologize-after-charlie-kirk-outrage/">New York Post</a>:
<blockquote>Late night host Jimmy Kimmel said he was unwilling to apologize for his remarks that blamed MAGA supporters for killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk — and said he was going to double down on attacking President Trump’s backers before he was yanked from the air, according to new reports. Kimmel learned in a phone call from top Disney exec Dana Walden on Wednesday afternoon that his show was being removed indefinitely, Deadline reported, citing sources. During the call, Kimmel reportedly refused to comply with calls from critics and the owners of dozens of ABC affiliate stations for him to apologize. 
Kimmel felt his remarks required no apologies, another source told The Hollywood Reporter. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host also claimed that he was planning to call out his critics for the latest attack on him, all while trying to clarify his comments about Kirk’s death. &#8230; Disney, however, felt that if Kimmel had doubled down on his MAGA comments, the company would have been forced to make a more drastic decision than simply suspending the show, sources told Deadline. </blockquote>
From that fact pattern, it appears that the reason Kimmel was taken off the air is because of organic outrage by viewers, which filtered up to affiliates, and those affiliates went to Disney and ABC. And they said, “We are not interested in having Jimmy Kimmel on.” And Kimmel responded by saying, “I&#8217;m going to double down and attack your viewers.”
No tears for Jimmy Kimmel. 
But the Left has decided that this is the greatest assault on free speech in American history, which is totally crazy considering a man was shot to death for doing free speech one week ago, and they seem to care much more about Jimmy Kimmel being taken off the air than Charlie Kirk being murdered live on TV. 
Jon Stewart did a special <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/arts/television/late-night-jimmy-kimmel-suspension.html">weekday break-in</a> on The Daily Show. Of course, he did no such thing last week after Charlie was killed. No special episode about the importance of free speech after a person he disagreed with was shot to death in front of 3,000 people and countless others on the internet. No break-in for that.
But when his friend Jimmy Kimmel gets suspended from the airwaves, he does a break-in. He did a 23-minute monologue suggesting that the State was going to come after everybody on the Left.
Now, one thing I noticed about Jon Stewart is that he is not under that threat. If he thought he was actually under that threat, he wouldn&#8217;t have done this particular lecture.
So he showed up, and his shtick was that the background had been made up to look like a sort of Trumpian Mar-a-Lago. He was wearing a jacket and a red tie to mimic Trump, and a flag pin, so he could claim that he was operating under fear.
Jon Stewart is not operating under fear. Let&#8217;s be real. These were crocodile tears. He was not operating under the assumption that his free speech life is over in the United States. 
Stephen Colbert then <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/arts/television/jimmy-kimmel-david-letterman-stephen-colbert.html">came out and said</a>, “We are all Jimmy Kimmel.” What he really meant was, “I am Jimmy Kimmel.” Even if it turns out Kimmel was taken off the air because of FCC pressure — which I think is very, very doubtful — Stephen Colbert was not taken off the air because of Trump administration pressure. Paramount chief Shari Redstone pointed out that Stephen Colbert&#8217;s cancellation had literally nothing to do with anything government-related. He was taken off because he sucked at his job and cost too much money. 
Comedian Marc Maron <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/marc-maron-patton-oswalt-jimmy-kimmel/">hyperventilated</a>, “This is government censorship. This is the Trump administration coming after people who speak out against him. This is the end of it. If you have any concern or belief in real freedom or the Constitution and free speech, this is it. This is the deciding moment. This is what authoritarianism looks like right now in this country. It’s happening.” 
Oh my God, you can hear the jackboots at the door. 
David Letterman <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/david-letterman-laces-into-trump-white-house-over-to-kimmel-suspension-an-authoritarian-criminal-administration/">emerged</a> from his house in the woods — where I assume he&#8217;s writing Unabomber journals — to go to the vaunted Atlantic Festival to talk about how this is a criminal and authoritarian administration. 
Chris Murphy, the senator from Connecticut, who for some weird reason believes that he is going to run for president, said <a href="https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1969024042926547421">Kimmel’s suspension</a> was about Trump silencing his political opponents. He actually said the people should take to the streets, that there should basically be giant protests in favor of Jimmy Kimmel. 
After spending 60 years using the FCC to crack down on its own political opposition, it is hilarious to see the Left protesting about Kimmel’s suspension. 
For a solid couple of decades, Democrats were quite authoritarian in their approach to free speech. We all remember the Woke revolutions, where if you didn&#8217;t post a black square, you were in danger of losing your job. We all remember Barack Obama using the law to spy on James Rosen, the Associated Press journalist. We remember Joe Biden using the power of the government to crack down on major social media companies in order to get them to mirror his political priorities. We all remember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for more censorship. 
The Left is crying about Kimmel and free speech. 
It’s been hardly more than a week since America lost Charlie.

ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel From Late Show After Comments About Charlie Kirk Shooting

Kimmel Suspended, Democrats Livid 

Charlie Kirk

Jon Stewart

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