A lot of folks have tried to figure out exactly why the Donald Trump phenomenon happened.
Donald Trump has been the most transformative political figure of the 21st century. Without a doubt, it was going to be Barack Obama. And then Trump came in and completely remade American politics in global geopolitics.
But what led to the Trump phenomenon in the first place? There have been a lot of attempts to philosophize about Trump. Maybe it was all about economic grievances in the Midwest? Maybe it was all about offshoring? Maybe it was all about tariffs or about immigration?
The reality is the biggest thing that drove Donald Trump to victory in 2016 and again in 2024 is the fact that the Left went culturally insane.
The backlash against the Left has been less about tax rates than about a generalized feeling that the Left was trying to dissolve the culture of the United States on traditional, basic issues such as “men are not women.” Or “There is such a thing as America, and America is good.” Or, “Christianity ought to be held with a high level of esteem.”
These are certain things Americans took for granted. Things like church, apple pie, baseball, the flag, all the stuff people used to think was corny.
And then the Left decided, they weren’t just corny, they were bad.
But it turns out most Americans don&#8217;t think like that.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2253-the-ben-shapiro-show?elementPosition=3&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Why do I bring this up? Because you&#8217;re seeing all of this crystallized in what I would term a culture division between the Sydney Sweeney Americans and the Cynthia Erivo Americans.
Cynthia Erivo, whom I’ve praised before, is a terrific actress from Great Britain, a great singer, and unbelievably talented. But Cynthia Erivo has also become emblematic of a leftist social value belief system.
This became a hot issue online over the course of the last 48 hours, because she was the star of a production of Jesus Christ Superstar, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Jesus Christ Superstar, as a musical, is quite respectful to Christian traditions. It is not meant to make fun of Christian traditions.
But at the Hollywood Bowl, they decided they were going to cast Cynthia Erivo as Jesus Christ.
There are a few problems with this: Cynthia Erivo is a woman; Jesus Christ was a man. Cynthia Erivo is black; Jesus Christ was a Middle-Eastern Jew. Cynthia Erivo describes herself as queer and bisexual. Jesus Christ was not, to say the least, any of that.
So they took all the things that Jesus Christ was not, and morphed them into what the Left wishes Jesus Christ were. The whole goal of this production at the Hollywood Bowl was to be completely subversive of Christianity, and to supplant traditional values with the values of the far-Left social sphere.
Theater critic Charles McNulty&#8217;s <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-08-04/jesus-christ-superstar-review-hollywood-bowl-cynthia-erivo">gushing review</a> in the L.A. Times stated:
<blockquote>Cynthia Erivo, a noted theatrical divinity, redeemed the title of “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Hollywood Bowl last weekend in a magnetic, heaven-sent performance that established God the Savior as a queer Black woman, as many of us suspected might be the case all along. Divine dispensation allowed me to catch the final performance of this revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1971 breakout musical. I returned from vacation just in time to join the pilgrimaging hordes carting cumbersome picnic baskets and enough wine for a few dozen Sicilian weddings. The vast number of attendees caused bottlenecks at entry points, prompting one wag to crack, “What is this, the Second Coming?</blockquote>
Notice all of the extraordinarily seething comments of hatred for Christianity just in the first two paragraphs. “God the Savior as a queer Black woman, as many of us suspected might be the case all along.” That everyone suspected all along that God the Savior was a “queer black woman.” Erivo is a “theatrical divinity.” It was only “divine dispensation” and the favor of God that caused him to catch this performance of Cynthia Erivo.
“The headliners, Erivo as Jesus and Adam Lambert as Judas, certainly have sizable fan bases,” he continued. “But so too does the subject of this Greatest Story Ever Told, a messiah whose following has few equals in the history of the world. Suffice it to say, it was a supercharged evening, comparable more to a rock concert than one of the Bowl’s forays into the musical theater past.”
He goes on to talk about Cynthia Erivo and the magic of a queer black woman playing Jesus and Adam Lambert, who is openly gay, playing Judas, adding, “Phillipa Soo’s Mary Magdalene brought a probing, tentative and profound intimacy in her adoration of Erivo’s Jesus. In her exquisite rendition of ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him,’ the tenderness between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, at once earthy and ethereal, deepened the expressive range of the love between them.”
The whole idea from the Left is that the entire story of Christianity must be flipped on its head. The imagery that emerges from this performance of JC Superstar is astonishingly hedonistic, truly subversive. That is the entire goal of the enterprise.
I&#8217;m not a Christian, but I have great respect for Christianity. I&#8217;ve encouraged tens of thousands of people to go back to church and many, many people to move back toward their belief system.
Do these performances sound like Jesus and Judas to you, or do they sound like a queer, bisexual black woman and a very, very gay man cosplaying as Jesus and Judas?
The reason that&#8217;s important is because the backlash is one of the things driving America&#8217;s politics right now. The backlash to the left-wing view that everything must be subverted; the church must be subverted; Christianity must be subverted; heterosexuality must be subverted; whiteness must be subverted. All of these things  “must be subverted because they are all emblematic of an evil system of power.”
That is why when Donald Trump said “Make America Great Again,” all he really meant by that was “Stop this stuff. Stop this crap.”
Donald Trump represented a giant, pulsating orange middle finger to all of this nonsense.
On the one side, you have Jesus Christ played by Cynthia Erivo, and on the other side, you have the cultural controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney.
Sydney Sweeney is all-American, and a throwback to every cheesecake star of the 1940s. She&#8217;s the kind of woman who was painted on the front of World War II bombers, and so she looks like a pinup girl from 1944. She grew up in rural areas like Spokane, Washington, and her values reflect that. When she moved to Florida, she registered as a Republican.
There&#8217;s nothing in Hollywood that gets people&#8217;s goat more than being a registered Republican.
But Sydney Sweeney being a Republican shouldn&#8217;t be that big a deal, right? In a country that is at least 50% Republican at this point, why shouldn&#8217;t Sydney Sweeney, who is now a popular actress and advertising icon, be a registered Republican?
When you look at Sydney Sweeney, obviously, she&#8217;s a beautiful woman. But there are lots of beautiful young women in Hollywood. What is it about Sydney Sweeney that drove the Left insane?
Sydney Sweeney is not one of them.
It&#8217;s not just that the Left wishes to uphold the values and rights of the marginalized. They wish to recenter the marginalized and to turn the mainstream, the “normies,” into the marginalized. 
Thus, they must attack anyone who is not one of them.
This is why, for years, every couple of weeks on Twitter, Chris Pratt would randomly trend. That was because Chris Pratt is not of the Left. It doesn&#8217;t mean that he&#8217;s a rabid Right-winger, but because Chris Pratt was not openly saying all of the idiotic nostrums of the Left, from BLM to LGBTQ+-, that made him verboten.
The same thing happened to Sydney Sweeney.
But it&#8217;s now backfiring because Americans have had enough of this crap.
The backlash against Sweeney says that the actual realities of life must be Cynthia Erivo as Jesus Christ and Sydney Sweeney as a Nazi. But the backlash against Sydney Sweeney for being a pretty blonde white girl with blue eyes who can shoot a gun and isn&#8217;t a registered Democrat is the reason that Donald Trump is president.
If that&#8217;s going to be the juxtaposition Democrats and the Left make, they will lose until the end of time.
And they will deserve it.

MixCollage-05-Aug-2025-02-38-PM-7926

Jesus Christ Erivo Vs. MAGA Sweeney

Ben Shapiro

Celebrities

Democrats

Leftists

LGBTQ

musical

Opinion

President Trump

Republicans

Sydney Sweeney

If late night comedy on network television is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/late-night-collapse-colberts-fall-and-the-death-of-balanced-comedy">dying</a>, NBC host and comedian Seth Meyers may have inadvertently revealed one of the reasons for that — and admitted that he has played a part in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-host-breaks-ranks-offers-surprisingly-sane-reason-for-colberts-ouster">bringing that about</a>.
Meyers told host Dax Shepard on his &#8220;Armchair Expert&#8221; podcast that his goal — as the host of &#8220;Late Night with Seth Meyers&#8221; — is to make sure that his show is &#8220;cathartic&#8221; for him while he&#8217;s making it and for the audience as they&#8217;re watching it.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Seth Meyers goes on the Armchair Expert podcast and claims that he views his &#8216;Late Night&#8217; NBC job as wanting &#8220;to make a show that&#8217;s both cathartic to do and cathartic to watch.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/wqHq2AeTYG">pic.twitter.com/wqHq2AeTYG</a>
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexchristy17/status/1950235834671599859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Shepard began by pointing to the obvious left-leaning nature of Meyers&#8217; show, asking whether he felt like people who agreed with him came to watch his show because they found it comforting in a way. What he didn&#8217;t say aloud was that having a show that leaned so far in one particular direction could potentially alienate half of the country.
&#8220;Have you felt over the years that it&#8217;s a bit of a dog whistle for people to come commiserate with you in a way that you&#8217;re like, ‘Ugh,’ I don&#8217;t, let&#8217;s put it this way. I have my own political opinions. I find one of the most boring things in the world is to hear someone else&#8217;s political opinions because there&#8217;s only two, but everyone&#8217;s saying it as if they thought of it themselves and it&#8217;s novel,&#8221; Shepard said. &#8220;No. You just declared you&#8217;re on that side. I get it. So, I would imagine people find you in restaurants and they want to bond over that with you.&#8221;
Meyers agreed, but went on to take the argument a bit further — saying that ultimately it didn&#8217;t matter if he was changing the minds of people who did not agree with him and suggesting that his show might inspire more of the people who do agree with him to get out and vote.
&#8220;Early on, people would say, ‘Do you really think you&#8217;re changing anyone&#8217;s mind?’ And it was ‘no.’  I would like to think that maybe we could, like, if someone&#8217;s like, ‘Should I vote or not?’ You would want to maybe if they watch our show, they think ‘You know what, I am going to get out and cast a ballot,'&#8221; he claimed.
&#8220;Yeah. Yeah. But I think you&#8217;d be hard-pressed to find someone in America that doesn&#8217;t know how they feel about Trump,&#8221; Shepard replied. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s one left.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that for us, we want to make a show that&#8217;s both cathartic to do and cathartic to watch,&#8221; Meyers continued, making it clear that he viewed his show as a place for liberal opinion first and comedy second — if at all.

Late Night with Seth Meyers – Season 11

Seth Meyers Helped Kill Late Night Comedy: Here’s How

Seth Meyers Helped Kill Late Night Comedy: Here's How

Comedy

Politics

Seth Meyers

The big controversy of the day surrounds Sydney Sweeney&#8217;s chest.
Sydney Sweeney is an actress who’s done a number of movies lately, but she&#8217;s mostly famous because when she&#8217;s on TV, when she&#8217;s hosting SNL, she shows a lot of cleavage.
She&#8217;s a very attractive woman and did some new <a href="https://x.com/IamSydSweeney/status/1948063444550468039">American Eagle ads</a> that blew up on social media.
One ad shows her buttoning her jeans seductively; she talks about jeans, saying, “My jeans are blue,” while the voice-over says, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
The homonym meant for the audience is that she has great genetic predispositions and characteristics. Another ad shows her closing the hood of a Mustang, then rubbing the backside of her jeans as she walks away.
The real story here is that Sydney Sweeney is doing sexy commercials, which has been a hallmark of advertising going back to the mid-19th century.
This has resulted in people going absolutely insane, totally crazy.
It’s important to note that people who are characterizing American Eagle as some sort of bizarre Right-wing company are missing the boat. American Eagle is not a Right-wing company. American Eagle is a jeans company that follows whatever it thinks are the prevailing trends of the time.
The real question is: What is the zeitgeist here? It is amazing that we are now having a controversy over what would have been, two decades ago, a perfectly normal ad on your television.
I’m old enough to remember when the Right would have objected to such an ad.
There are some of us who are traditionally-minded who still object to the overt sexualization of women in advertising, as well as the sexualization that is being forced on our culture. Some of us are old enough to remember when Paris Hilton was grinding on cars for a Carl&#8217;s Jr. commercial back in 2005, and objecting to that as being too raunchy and problematic.
I don&#8217;t mean problematic in the Left-wing sense; I mean morally problematic to put scantily clad, attractive women in advertising specifically to get people to buy a product.
But the Left has gone completely insane. They&#8217;ve broken down into two categories, both objecting to the ad.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2248-the-ben-shapiro-show?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The first is the feminist line that these ads were “made for the male gaze.” It&#8217;s all about the “male gaze.”
Can we get over this nonsense, “the male gaze?” Men like to look at pretty women. That is the way of the world. That is the basis of all human reproduction.
That does not mean that men should ogle women. But if we are going to pretend that beauty does not exist and that men don&#8217;t appreciate it, then you are simply ignoring the realities of life.
The second category is those who say there is something peculiarly Nazi about all of this. Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian and Style Memo newsletter writer Shane O’Neill <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/07/28/sydney-sweeney-american-eagle-ad/">discussed</a> the ads.
O’Neill posited:
<blockquote>The most provocative part of the campaign is when she’s talking about offspring and genes. (She says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” and the camera pans to her blue eyes. “My jeans are blue.”) Sweeney also has softer copy in the press release. She says of American Eagle, “They have literally been there with me through every version of myself.”
There’s a message about mutable identity there. And that could be extended into a vision of America as a place where you’re NOT bound by who you are at birth. But they went the full opposite of that. &#8230;
I think what’s getting people talking — or rather, why everyone was watching these TikToks obsessively over the weekend and picking them apart — is how regressive the ads seem,” Tashjian stated. “The line about her having great jeans — several people are suggesting in the comments on Instagram and TikTok that this is a ‘pro-eugenics ad.’ Whether or not that’s the case, it is part of a wave of imagery of influencers, pop stars and musicians that feels tethered to the values of another time.</blockquote>
You&#8217;re going to see a Right-wing backlash building. The “values of another time” would be men thinking attractive women are attractive, because attractive women are attractive. If that&#8217;s “tethered to the values of another time,” then that would be tethered to the values of all time.
There&#8217;s nothing new there. If that were not the case, sales of Ozempic would be significantly lower.
“For the past five or six years, it seemed like fashion and pop culture were very interested in — even dedicated to — body positivity. Now we’re being fed a lot of images of thinness, whiteness, and unapologetic wealth porn, what with this campaign, influencers like Alix Earle and Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover,” Tashjian claimed.
“Those Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ads are weird. Like fascist weird, like Nazi propaganda, weird. Should we be surprised that a company whose name is literally American Eagle is making fascist propaganda like this?” a TikTok influencer stated. “A blonde-haired blue-eyed white woman is talking about her genes.” 
This is crazy. A play on the words “jeans” and “genes” is not meant to be a reference to the Nazis.
Another thing: let’s be real: when people look at Sydney Sweeney — I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings here for you lefties — her eye color and hair color are the third and fourth things people are looking at when they look at Sydney Sweeney.
When she says she has good genes, people are not thinking about her eye color or her hair color.
The Right has split on this ad. There are many people in the online space who look at the insane reaction of the Left to this, where they are calling it Nazi propaganda, suggesting that it is all about “the male gaze” and the “evils of the male gaze,” “tethered to another time,” and all this crap, and they respond, “This ad is great. It&#8217;s making America great again. This ad is bringing back what makes America awesome. This is a reversion to the heterosexual norm.”
This ad can be both a rejection of the post-gender insanity push by the Left, but also be a piece leaning toward very softcore pornography. Being a moral traditionalist, I do not actually believe that commercials like this are great for America.
I think it&#8217;s good to expose the Left for being totally insane, and I think it is worthwhile noting that the Left is totally crazy. But if you&#8217;re a traditionally moral person, if you&#8217;re somebody who&#8217;s a churchgoer, a synagogue-goer, and you look at this ad, you&#8217;re saying, “This looks like a way to get a bunch of young people to buy jeans by showing Sydney Sweeney&#8217;s butt and breasts.”
Is that good for culture? Is that good for male/female relations? Is the over-sexualization of our society a generally good thing or a generally bad thing?
Two things can be true at once. One, the Left is totally insane and there&#8217;s nothing Nazi-esque about a jeans pun, and the anti-Left is correct to mock the Left for being totally insipid and insane.
But the Right is also split between people who don&#8217;t hold any sort of traditional values and people who do hold those traditional values, and they exist in an uneasy coalition.
It will be interesting to see how that coalition works moving forward.

US-ENTERTAINMENT-MEDIA-MUSIC-FESTIVAL-SXSW

The Internet’s Cleavage Over Sydney Sweeney’s Commercial

actors

advertising

Social Issues

You can’t say Stephen Colbert didn’t try.
“The Late Show” host spent years spreading every anti-Trump narrative in the media. The “Very Fine People” speech. Russian Collusion. The Ballad of Stormy Daniels. Pee-Pee tapes. If it was critical of the president, Colbert pounced and seized.
True? False? Fake News? No matter. Colbert was on the case, weaponizing his nightly broadcast as an in-kind contribution to the DNC.
Except it didn’t work. Trump returned to the Oval Office earlier this year. And, now, Colbert won’t be around the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City to watch Trump complete his second term.
<div id="attachment_952651" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-952651" class="size-large wp-image-952651" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225461053-864x576.jpg" alt="People participate in a protest titled 'Colbert stays! Trump must go!' outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on July 21, 2025. &quot;The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,&quot; a staple of late-night US television, will end in 2026, the CBS network said, days after the comedian blasted parent company Paramount's $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump as &quot;a big fat bribe.&quot; (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225461053-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225461053-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225461053-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225461053.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images</div>
“The Late Show’s” cancellation sent shock waves through Hollywood. Supporters decry the decision, ignoring the cold, hard math behind the move. Reports say the show loses CBS $40 million (or more) a year.
Why would any business keep a show on the air for that price?
“The Late Show” became free therapy sessions for those who still can’t believe the country elected the real estate mogul – twice. They tuned in to hear their beliefs reflected back at them, aided and abetted by Colbert’s smug delivery.
It must have felt empowering to hear him call Trump Vladimir Putin’s [bleep] holster at the height of the Russian collusion scandal. Did it matter that it was all built upon a lie?
Apparently not. And Colbert never felt compelled to apologize for misleading his audience.
The Colbert we see today isn’t the one we were first introduced to on, where else, “The Daily Show.” His shtick at the time, expanded via “The Colbert Report,” was mocking a Bill O’Reilly-style commentator.
He excelled at the role, earning some respect even among right-leaning viewers. He put the funny first, much like he did as part of the “Strangers with Candy” sitcom years earlier.
<div id="attachment_952649" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-952649" class="size-large wp-image-952649" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-460161346-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 8: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama (L) talks to television personality Stephen Colbert during a taping of Comedy Central's &quot;The Colbert Report&quot; in Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University on December 8, 2014 in Washington, DC. This is President Obama's third appearance on &quot;The Colbert Report&quot; that will broadcast its final show on Dec. 18. (Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-460161346-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-460161346-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-460161346-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-460161346.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images</div>
He seemed a smart choice to succeed David Letterman on “The Late Show” in 2015, but he initially struggled in the ratings against “The Tonight Show” juggernaut. Then, Colbert found his inner Bernie Sanders and turned the showcase into a hard-Left platform.
The move paid dividends. “The Late Show” soon became the ratings leader before the rise of Fox News’ “Gutfeld!”
The shift didn’t help the show’s longevity. The bill has come due. Why?
He neglected to heed the Ghost of Johnny Carson. The late-night king knew well enough to mock both sides of the aisle and have fun doing so.
The joy seeped from Colbert’s performance. So did any sense of balance. Now, you’re as likely to see a “Pod Save America” host on his show as a Tom Cruise or Sydney Sweeney.
Progressive viewers may vote for Sen. Adam Schiff, but on a charisma scale of 1 to 10 he’s a 3, at best.
What happens next? Colbert vows to go down fighting, slamming President Trump with every sketch and monologue in his waning days. Oh, like he’s done the past nine or so years? The Legacy Media will <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2025/07/24/trump-epstein-files-late-night-hosts/85356533007/">amplify them all</a>, hoping to sway the public against Trump beyond their cartoonishly biased reportage.
Reporters will miss crafting headlines like this as much as they miss Colbert: &#8220;Late-night guys are giddy with Trump and Epstein jokes after latest developments.&#8221;
How can Colbert possibly do more to attack the Trump administration at this point? He can’t, unless he takes a page from “The View” playbook.
Unhinged conspiracies. Fear-mongering on steroids. Undisciplined rants that cause the studio audience to clap like seals and sane viewers to watch their jaws go slack. That’s all Colbert has left, and he risks losing whatever cultural heft he has remaining if he goes down that road.
Does he really want to start sharing “Legal Notes” like “The View” does to protect himself from lawsuits?
<div id="attachment_952655" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-952655" class="size-large wp-image-952655" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225551799-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK CITY - JULY 21: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert during Monday's July 21, 2025 show. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225551799-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225551799-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225551799-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2225551799.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images</div>
Plus, he’s only 61. Surely, he wants to keep working in comedy once “The Late Show” expires. He’s a natural fit for video podcasting, where the modest budgetary requirements all but guarantee his success.
Sane progressives will see right through any “View”-sized transition, meaning he’ll peel off some of his base along the way. Maybe the show will lose more than $40 million over the next 10 months.
The upside for Colbert’s late-night competitors? With “The Late Show” out of the way, they’ll be more progressive viewers for them to attract, at least on paper. No Colbert? Let’s see how Jimmy Kimmel is attacking President Trump today.
It’ll be a sugar high, at best.
Late-night TV is dying. Blame YouTube, the rise of funny social media accounts or comedians who actively chased away more than half the country with their polemics. Colbert is far from alone on that front. Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel all lean to the Left. And they kissed conservative viewers goodbye some time ago.
“<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/5612703584001">Not good riddance but riddance,”</a> as Kimmel infamously said about his shift to the hard Left.
The format likely would perish with or without Colbert’s handiwork. We stopped collecting 8-track tapes some time ago, too. His Trump obsession, and fueling insults like “Clapter” to the lexicon, a term for jokes meant to spark applause, not laughter, made matters worse.
The biggest irony? While audiences no longer find Colbert’s shtick funny, a certain two-term president is having the last laugh.
* * *
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.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Late Night Collapse: Colbert’s Fall And The Death Of Balanced Comedy

Late Night Collapse: Colbert’s Fall and the Death of Balanced Comedy

David Letterman

Entertainment

Jon Stewart

Legacy Media

Stephen Colbert

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not have their multi-year deal with Netflix renewed when it expires in September, according to a <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/royals/35969847/prince-harry-meghan-netflix-deal-axed/">report</a> from The Sun.
The royal couple has launched several projects with the streaming giant since the announcement of their $100 million deal in 2020. These specials and shows have had varying degrees of success, with the 2022 docuseries “Harry &amp; Meghan” remaining the most popular among them. 
Meanwhile, other projects, such as Prince Harry’s “Polo” and Markle’s lifestyle series “With Love, Meghan,” have failed to capture the attention of Netflix’s audience. In a recent <a href="https://about.netflix.com/en/news/what-we-watched-the-first-half-of-2025">Engagement Report</a> put out by the streamer, the “Polo” documentary was listed as number 3,436 on the list of shows ranked by most-watched, while Markle’s new series came in at number 383.
A second season of “With Love, Meghan” has already been filmed and is set to debut in September. Her first <a href="https://people.com/chrissy-teigen-appear-season-2-meghan-markle-netflix-series-with-love-meghan-11736557">confirmed</a> guest star is Chrissy Teigen.
“There’s no animosity from either side,” an unnamed source told The Sun of Netflix’s decision not to renew the contract. “Things have just run their course.”
The insider also discussed why “Harry &amp; Meghan” was the most successful project so far. 
“Netflix were clever in that they got a hell of a lot of viewers for the first documentary series, and knew, realistically, it would prove the zenith of content from the Montecito pair,&#8221; the source said, noting that the partnership ending represents a &#8220;huge loss of revenue.&#8221;
“They’re not unhappy with how things turned out — they got those initial hits, and produced one of the most talked-about shows of all time,&#8221; the insider added. 
Prince Harry and Markle have had a hard time achieving fame and success in the United States after quitting their full-time working royal roles in 2020 and moving to California permanently. Critics have been vocal in their distaste, as reflected on social media after news of the Netflix partnership&#8217;s end came to light.
“Good. The grifters are out of business,” one person <a href="https://x.com/TerryinSoCalif/status/1948052133389213733">wrote</a>, echoing what many others were saying.
“I am only surprised that Netflix thought this was a good business decision in the first place,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/julie_mcbane/status/1947997610658128182">observed</a>.
“Thank goodness. Insufferable fools,” a third agreed.
&nbsp;

Harry and Meghan

Netflix Pulls Plug On $100M Deal With Prince Harry And Meghan Markle

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle's $100M Netflix Deal Not Getting Renewed

Meghan Markle

Netflix

Prince Harry

Royal Family

World

Late-night host Stephen Colbert went on a lengthy tirade against President Donald Trump during Monday night&#8217;s episode of &#8220;The Late Show,&#8221; addressing a <a href="https://puck.news/how-hollywood-is-processing-the-colbert-cancellation/">report</a> that his program loses $40 million per season.
Several comedians and fellow hosts showed up for the latest episode to support Colbert and bash Trump. 
At one point, Colbert responded to Trump&#8217;s celebratory social media post about the show being canceled, in which the president taunted Colbert, saying, &#8220;His talent was even less than his ratings.&#8221;
&#8220;How dare you, sir,&#8221; Colbert said. &#8220;Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself!&#8221;
&#8220;Cancel culture has gone too far,&#8221; Colbert said during his monologue. &#8220;Last week, we learned that &#8216;The Late Show&#8217; will be ending in May. I want to thank everybody who reached out to me over the weekend, including one text from an unknown number, offering a high-paying IT work-from-home job for only two to three hours a day. Yes, I am very interested and I will be sending you my routing number in May. Daddy needs a job.&#8221;
The host mentioned how it&#8217;s now sunk in that CBS is &#8220;killing&#8221; his show. 
&#8220;But they made one mistake. They left me alive. Now, for the next 10 months, the gloves are off. I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump. I don&#8217;t care for him. Doesn&#8217;t have the skillset to be president,&#8221; Colbert continued.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Gloves Are Off | &quot;I Absolutely Love That Colbert Got Fired&quot; | Trump &amp; Epstein&#039;s Wonderful Secret" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIZegLAvK8o?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>
Earlier this month, Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-scores-16m-payout-from-paramount-after-exposing-deceptively-edited-kamala-interview">agreed to a $16 million settlement</a> in a lawsuit Trump had brought accusing the media outlet of election interference. The lawsuit stemmed from an interview CBS News&#8217;s &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; conducted with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris one month before the 2024 election. The lawsuit alleged that the interview was edited to make it seem more coherent than it really was.
&#8220;People have been speculating about the timing of this decision from Paramount, and they&#8217;re pointing out that last Monday, just two days before my cancellation, I delivered a blistering monologue in which I showed the courage to have a mustache,&#8221; said Colbert. &#8220;When obviously CBS saw my upper lip and boom, canceled. Coincidence? Oh, I think not. This is worse than fascism. This is stashism.&#8221;
&#8220;They clarified that the cancellation was purely a financial decision. But how could it purely be a financial decision if &#8216;The Late Show&#8217; is number one in ratings? A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff&#8217;s parents and spouses,&#8221; Colbert went on. 
Next, he accused CBS insiders of leaking financial details to justify the cancellation.
&#8220;Over the weekend, somebody at CBS followed up their gracious press release with a gracious anonymous leak saying they pulled the plug on our show because of losses pegged between $40 million and $50 million a year. $40 million is a big number. I could see us losing $24 million, but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million? Oh, yeah,&#8221; he said, seemingly referencing the amount of the settlement.

‘Go F*** Yourself’: Colbert Unleashes Anti-Trump Tirade Amid Report His Show Loses $40M Annually

Donald Trump

Paramount

Television

U.S.

Leftists are reacting to the news that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will broadcast its last episode in May 2026.
Many comments on social media responded to Colbert&#8217;s posting of a monologue on Instagram, announcing the news.
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“The greatest to ever do it,” former Late Show band leader Jon Batiste wrote in reply. 
“My admiration and appreciation for you is bottomless. Excited to see what other brilliance you put into the world,” filmmaker and producer Judd Apatow said. 
“I am so upset about this. I need more information. We love you,” journalist Katie Couric wrote.
“Snow White” star Rachel Zegler also shared her thoughts, writing, “I am extremely sad. I adore you, Stephen.”
“Love you Stephen. This is absolute bulls***, and I for one am looking forward to the next 10 months of shows,” Adam Scott of “Severance” fame added.
Fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel also <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/entertainment/jimmy-kimmel-blasts-cbs-over-the-late-show-cancellation-as-he-supports-pal-stephen-colbert/">reacted</a> to the news, sharing in his Instagram Stories, “Love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questioned if CBS’s motives for the cancellation had anything to do with politics.
“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery,” Warren <a href="https://x.com/SenWarren/status/1946003619821580369">wrote</a> in an X post. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”
Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) had similar suspicions. 
“Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled,” he <a href="https://x.com/SenAdamSchiff/status/1945991349339042169">wrote</a>. “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”
The cancellation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-cans-ultra-leftist-stephen-colberts-late-show-all-just-going-away">announcement</a> marked the end of a nearly 11-year run that Colbert has had hosting “The Late Show,” which first began in 1993 under the former host, David Letterman.
The network said that it is scrapping “The Late Show” franchise and will not move on to another host after Colbert.
“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,” CBS said in a statement.
“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.

Leftists Lash Out After CBS Cancels Colbert, Kimmel Tells Network ‘F You’ And Your Sitcoms

Leftists Lash Out After CBS Cancels Colbert, Kimmel Tells Network 'F You' And Your Sitcoms

Jimmy Kimmel

President Donald Trump took a victory lap on Friday after learning that CBS had canceled &#8220;The Late Show,&#8221; hosted by leftist comedian and political commentator Stephen Colbert.
CBS <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-cans-ultra-leftist-stephen-colberts-late-show-all-just-going-away?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=CBS+Cans+Ultra-Leftist+Stephen+Colbert%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%98Late+Show%E2%80%99%3A+%E2%80%98All+Just+Going+Away%E2%80%99">announced</a> on Thursday that the late-night talk show, which started with host David Letterman in 1993, will air its final episode in May 2026, nearly 11 years after Colbert took over.
&#8220;I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114874422468516376">wrote</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.&#8221;
Trump has ripped Colbert in the past, calling him &#8220;very boring&#8221; and &#8220;a total loser.&#8221;
&#8220;He is not funny, which he gets paid far too much to be, he is not wise, he is VERY BORING, and his show is dying from a complete lack of viewers,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113196110603948496">said</a> last September.
Colbert, whom CBS said &#8220;will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television,&#8221; often used his monologues to take shots at Trump and his supporters. In March, Colbert ripped President Trump&#8217;s address to Congress, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/mar/05/colbert-trump-speech-congress">saying</a>, “Trump’s first address to Congress was much like his first six weeks: filled with useful lies and applauded by useless idiots.”
Earlier this week, Colbert criticized CBS&#8217;s parent company, Paramount, for agreeing to pay a $16 million settlement to Trump over a &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, which Trump said was deceptively edited to help the Democratic presidential nominee. Colbert called the settlement a &#8220;big fat bribe,&#8221; adding, “I don’t know if anything will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Paramount’s Trump Settlement: A Big Fat Bribe | Jeffrey Epstein Never Dies | FIFA Trophy Row" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzvx3L3DQb8?start=127&#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>
None of Colbert&#8217;s segments were more roundly mocked than his COVID &#8220;Vax-Scene&#8221; bit in 2021, in which the comedian danced on stage with four people dressed up as syringes.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Vax-Scene - The Box Set" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sSkFyNVtNh8?start=544&#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>
Colbert addressed CBS&#8217;s decision to cancel his show on Thursday night, telling his audience, &#8220;Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending &#8216;The Late Show&#8217; in May.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not being replaced. This is all just going away,&#8221; he added.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Stephen Colbert Announces The Cancellation Of “The Late Show”" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AuqEZx6TmfI?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>
Democrats lamented the move by CBS, including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who was Colbert&#8217;s headliner on Thursday night.
“Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better,” Schiff <a href="https://x.com/SenAdamSchiff/status/1945991349339042169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1945991349339042169%7Ctwgr%5E6994272537ceff05d34bbf6eb721334ab9da046f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fcbs-cans-ultra-leftist-stephen-colberts-late-show-all-just-going-away">said</a> in a post on X.
&#8220;CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/SenWarren/status/1946003619821580369">added</a> Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). &#8220;America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.&#8221;

Donald Trump/Stephen Colbert

Trump Celebrates CBS Axing Stephen Colbert’s Show: ‘I Hear Jimmy Kimmel Is Next’

Executive

CBS will pull the plug on late-night comedian Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” next year in a “purely financial decision,” the network announced on Thursday.
Colbert’s late-night comedy news show will air its final episode in May 2026, according to a statement released by CBS. The announcement marked the end of a nearly 11-year run Colbert has had hosting “The Late Show,” which first began in 1993 under former host David Letterman.
The network said that it is scrapping “The Late Show” franchise and will not move on to another host after Colbert.
“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,” CBS said in a statement.
“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.
Colbert announced the news from his host chair at the top of his Thursday episode.
“I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” Colbert said.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who was a guest on Colbert’s program on Thursday night, suggested on social media that the cancelation of “The Late Show” may be about more than purely “financial reasons.”
“Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better,” Schiff said in a post on X.
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Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled.
If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.
&mdash; Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenAdamSchiff/status/1945991349339042169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The end of “The Late Show” comes as late-night comedy programming has seen a severe decline in recent years. Colbert’s show has seen a significant <a href="https://fortune.com/2024/10/25/late-night-tv-shows-fading-colbert-leading-late-audience-drop-32/">decline</a>.
CBS saluted Colbert in its statement announcing an end to “The Late Show” after more than three decades.
“The show has been #1 in late night for nine straight seasons; Stephen&#8217;s comedy resonates daily across digital and social media; and the broadcast is a staple of the nation’s zeitgeist,” said CBS. “The accomplishments of ‘THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT’ are memorable and significant in performance, quality and stature. With much gratitude, we look forward to honoring Stephen and celebrating the show over the next 10 months alongside its millions of fans and viewers.”

CBS Cans Ultra-Leftist Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’: ‘All Just Going Away’

Adam Schiff

Comedian <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/a-list-comedian-shane-gillis-returning-host-snl-second-time-being-fired-sketch-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shane Gillis</a> hosted ESPN&#8217;s &#8220;ESPY Awards&#8221; on Wednesday night and shocked the crowd with a number of jokes about Jeffrey Epstein, the WNBA, its top star Caitlin Clark, and January 6th.
Gillis, who was warmly received by the online crowd, joked about the theories surrounding the death of Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
“Actually there was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Probably deleted itself, right? Probably never existed, actually. Let’s move on as a country and ignore that.”
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Shane Gillis ripped the Epstein handling during his monologue for the Espy awards on ESPN tonight:
“Actually there was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted. Probably deleted itself, right? Probably never existed, actually. Let’s move on as a country… <a href="https://t.co/ym3Brte8fZ">pic.twitter.com/ym3Brte8fZ</a>
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href="https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1945660250688012546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
During the monologue, Gillis also made a crack about how unpopular the WNBA is by getting the audience to applaud for his podcast co-host&#8217;s wife, introducing her as a WNBA all-star.
&#8220;Four-time WNBA all-star Brittany Hicks is here &#8212; give it up for Brittany everybody,&#8221; Gillis said to big cheers from the audience. &#8220;I&#8217;m joking around, that&#8217;s my friend&#8217;s wife. I knew none of you knew WNBA players. That&#8217;s crazy you clapped for that.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
This might have been Shane Gillis’ best joke of the night.
Introducing his friend’s wife as a 4x WNBA All Star and the crowd totally bought it 😂 <a href="https://t.co/qofeQGJ75X">pic.twitter.com/qofeQGJ75X</a>
— OutKick (@Outkick) <a href="https://twitter.com/Outkick/status/1945696537104764931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
Addressing Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, Gillis joked, &#8220;When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she&#8217;s going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist-fighting black women.&#8221;
Clark has routinely been the target of cheap shots from other players in the WNBA.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she&#8217;s going to work at a waffle house so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist fighting black women&#8221;
— Shane Gillis 😭😭😭 <a href="https://t.co/X45GWByr6o">pic.twitter.com/X45GWByr6o</a>
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/BricksCenter/status/1945637600745730362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
Gillis also took on former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, 73, who&#8217;s now dating a 24-year-old woman.
&#8220;A bookie is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bedtime,&#8221; the comedian joked. &#8220;They read, ‘Very horny caterpillar,’ ‘The Little Engine That Could But Needed A Pill First,’ and of course, the classic, ‘Good Night Boobs.'&#8221;
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Shane Gillis: &#8220;They let me do it. This is Disney. They allowed that&#8230; Yeah, we should&#8217;ve taken that out. I had doubts going into that. That didn&#8217;t work all week.&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ESPYs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ESPYs</a> <a href="https://t.co/Hjttc3J1B4">pic.twitter.com/Hjttc3J1B4</a>
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) <a href="https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1945650193036390444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
President Donald Trump and the January 6 Capitol breach were also referenced in the Gillis monologue. &#8220;Donald Trump wants to stage a UFC fight on the White House lawn,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The last time he staged a fight in D.C., Mike Pence almost died.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Shane Gillis: &#8220;Donald Trump wants to stage a UFC fight on the White House lawn. The last time he staged a fight in D.C., Mike Pence almost died&#8230; Actually, there was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted&#8230;&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ESPYs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ESPYs</a><a href="https://t.co/lneVij5IDY">pic.twitter.com/lneVij5IDY</a>
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) <a href="https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1945642027842216029?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
Gillis was widely praised online for the daring jokes, while X users highlighted some of the shocked reactions from the ESPY crowd:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
everyone in the audience while shane gillis delivers the funniest ESPYs opening of all time <a href="https://t.co/dJFJrEGbOq">pic.twitter.com/dJFJrEGbOq</a>
— greg (@gandalf_thegreg) <a href="https://twitter.com/gandalf_thegreg/status/1945653002330939759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Shane Gillis was hilarious but you can see how soft society has become that he’s gotta awkwardly feel like the devil for making funny jokes
— NBA Slime (@TerryFranconia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TerryFranconia/status/1945638365837009274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/even-snl-can-t-deny-that-shane-gillis-is-funny">Even SNL Can’t Deny That Shane Gillis Is Funny</a>

2025 ESPYs – Show

Shane Gillis Shocks ESPY Crowd With Unfiltered Jokes About Epstein, WNBA, And Caitlin Clark

Shane Gillis Shocks ESPY Crowd With Epstein, WNBA, Caitlin Clark Jokes

Caitlin Clark

ESPN

Jeffrey Epstein

WNBA

Nominees for the 77th Emmy Awards were <a href="https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/2025/outstanding-comedy-series">announced</a> Tuesday morning, with Apple TV+ series “Severance” leading the pack with 27 total nominations.
Not far behind was another Apple TV+ series, “The Studio,” which brought in 23 total noms, a leader in the comedy series category. On the drama side, the HBO Max drama series “The Penguin,” which is based on the “Batman” universe, scored big in the limited series category with 24 total nominations.
In the female-led categories, fans were surprised that Elisabeth Moss was not nominated for her starring role in the final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Best Actress nods in the drama category included Kathy Bates (“Matlock”), Sharon Horgan (“Bad Sisters”), Britt Lower (“Severance”), Bella Ramsey (“The Last of Us”), and Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”).
The HBO Max drama series “The White Lotus” took home 23 nominations including supporting actress noms for female stars Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, and Aimee Lou Wood, but they snubbed actress Leslie Bibb, who played the show’s token conservative.
In the Supporting Actor category, nominations were split evenly between “Severance” and “The White Lotus,” with three each and Jason Isaacs, Walton Goggins, and Sam Rockwell all being nominated for &#8220;Lotus” and Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, and John Turturro being recognized for “Severance.”
Jeremy Allen White is up for Best Lead Actor in a comedy series, and so is Martin Short for “Only Murders in the Building.”
The 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards are scheduled for Sunday, September 14, live on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. Comedian Nate Bargatze will serve as the host for the evening.
Below is a list of the major category nominations:
Outstanding Talk Series
“The Daily Show” 
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” 
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” 
Outstanding Reality Competition Program
“The Amazing Race” 
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” 
“Survivor”
“Top Chef”
“The Traitors”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
Bill Camp, “Presumed Innocent”
Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”
Rob Delaney, “Dying for Sex”
Peter Sarsgaard, “Presumed Innocent”
Ashley Walters, “Adolescence”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Erin Doherty, “Adolescence”
Ruth Negga, “Presumed Innocent”
Deirdre O’Connell, “The Penguin”
Chloë Sevigny, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
Jenny Slate, “Dying for Sex”
Christine Tremarco, “Adolescence”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”
Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”
Brian Tyree Henry, “Dope Thief”
Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”
Meghann Fahy, “Sirens”
Rashida Jones, “Black Mirror”
Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin”
Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
“Adolescence”
“Black Mirror”
“Dying for Sex”
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
“The Penguin”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Zach Cherry, “Severance”
Walton Goggins, “The White Lotus”
Jason Isaacs, “The White Lotus”
James Marsden, “Paradise”
Sam Rockwell, “The White Lotus”
Tramell Tillman, “Severance”
John Turturro, “Severance”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, “Severance”
Carrie Coon, “The White Lotus”
Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt”
Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise”
Parker Posey, “The White Lotus”
Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”
Aimee Lou Wood, “The White Lotus”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”
Britt Lower, “Severance”
Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
Adam Scott, “Severance”
Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”
Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
Outstanding Drama Series
“Andor”
“The Diplomat”
“The Last of Us”
“Paradise”
“The Pitt”
“Severance”
“Slow Horses”
“The White Lotus”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ike Barinholtz, “The Studio”
Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons”
Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”
Jeff Hiller, “Somebody Somewhere”
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
Michael Urie, “Shrinking”
Bowen Yang, “SNL”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”
Kathryn Hahn, “The Studio”
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio”
Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
Jessica Williams, “Shrinking”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”
Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
Outstanding Comedy Series
“Abbott Elementary”
“The Bear”
“Hacks”
“Nobody Wants This”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“Shrinking”
“The Studio”
“What We Do in the Shadows”

severance

‘Severance’ Leads Pack As 2025 Emmy Nominations Are Announced

Emmy Awards

Hollywood

Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro reacted with good humor after being referenced on Sunday night’s episode of the adult animated comedy, “Family Guy.”
“Happy to hear I was on Family Guy last night, but bummed the entire scene didn’t make the cut, so watch to the end of the clip,” the conservative commentator shared on X.
He also reacted to one specific line of the bit, writing, “BTW my new book Lions and Scavengers is coming out 9/2 and you’ll be number 3, dumb dog.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Happy to hear I was on Family Guy last night, but bummed the entire scene didn’t make the cut, so watch to the end of the clip. BTW my new book Lions and Scavengers is coming out 9/2 and you’ll be number 3, dumb dog. <a href="https://t.co/cWXqHofdIm">pic.twitter.com/cWXqHofdIm</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1944811032163016974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the clip, the family dog named Brian Griffin, who is also a staunch liberal on the series, is upset to find out that his previously published book “Faster Than the Speed of Love” has returned to the bestseller list because it’s being promoted by conservatives.
“Hey look, did you see this?” Stewie Griffin asks Brian. “Your book, &#8216;Faster Than the Speed of Love,&#8217; is back on the shelves.”
“Really? Nice!” Brian replies.
“With a new forward by Ann Coulter,” Stewie adds, prompting Brian to respond, “Less nice.”
“And a very forward by Lauren Boebert,” says Stewie.
Brian proceeds to read the foreword. “When I’m not rubbing my hand over a tented khaki, I’m curled up with a copy of Brian Griffin’s excellent book. And does anyone know how ‘Beetlejuice: The Musical’ ends?”
“Ugh, my book is being co-opted by the Right,” Brian complains. “Gross!”
“And it’s selling,” Stewie tells him. “It’s number two on the neo-Nazi best seller list, behind Ben Shapiro’s ‘Tyranny: How the Radical Left Made Me Bad at Sex.’”
The scene next cuts to a cartoon version of Shapiro saying, “Oh God. It’s that kid and his dog again. Never as good as ‘The Simpsons,’ not nearly as smart as ‘South Park.’ I wonder how [show creator Seth MacFarlane] still writes this from inside the closet.”
Most of Shapiro’s followers found the extended version of the clip hilarious, which was reflected in the comments.
“Even when they cut the scene, you still stole the show,” one person <a href="https://x.com/maverick2886/status/1944813207572357493">wrote</a>.
“Iconic,” another <a href="https://x.com/joelxroberts/status/1944812959424761975">agreed</a>.
“‘Family Guy’ or not, I’m just here for the sass and the book drop,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/WholesomeTrad/status/1944812170245783982">replied</a>.
“Lions and Scavengers: The True Story of America (and Her Critics)” is Shapiro’s first book in four years, and he recently called it his “most important book, certainly my most passionate.”
“Lions and Scavengers” will release on September 2, 2025. It is now <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Scavengers-Story-America-Critics/dp/1668097885/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Pg18nHlVX2neyh7VlgVdIKje9EBKlWHDPzfz2hz6y3Q3oyWp8Jv4YdfQyesgs3y-.a1CzqX5hmYc9zIJ3x9S3IyReflqRxvFeP5akr1dlPB8&amp;qid=1749148351&amp;sr=1-1">available for pre-order</a>.

Ben Shapiro Reacts To Being Referenced On ‘Family Guy’

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Family Guy

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