Jon Stewart has hit out at CBS after the network abruptly cancelled Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show last week, amid Donald Trump’s “shakedown” of parent company Paramount.
Speaking on the newest episode of his own seriesThe Daily Show – which airs on another Paramount channel, Comedy Central – the comedian used his opening monologue to defend his friend, Colbert, whose show is set to come to an end in May 2026.
Talking about the financial turmoil that late-night TV is experiencing, he joked: “We are all basically operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records. But when your industry is faced with changes, you don’t just call it a day. My God! When CDs stopped selling, they didn’t just go, ‘Oh, well, music, it’s been a good run.’”
Stewart then said that he “understands the corporate fear” when huge amounts of money are at stake, but added: “Truly, the shows that you now seek to cancel, censor, and control, a not insignificant portion of that $8bn value came from those f***ing shows. That's what made you that money – shows that say something, shows that take a stand, shows that are unafraid.”
He continued: “Believe me, this is not a 'We speak truth to power.' We don't. We speak opinions to television cameras. And if you believe as corporations or as networks, you can make yourselves so innocuous that you can serve a gruel so flavourless that you will never again be on the boy king's radar: (a) why will anyone watch you? And – you are f***ing wrong.”
Stewart and Colbert worked together on The Daily Show before Comedy Central launched spin-off show The Colbert Report in 2005. Reminiscing about the time they had shared and the success they experienced, Stewart told his studio audience: “We were two pretty good-sized fish in a reasonably small basic cable pond. Both of our shows reached an inflection point in 2015. Stephen chose to challenge himself by seeing if he could succeed the legendary David Letterman in, quite frankly, a much bigger pond than the one he and I had been swimming in.”
Stewart said that it had been an “undeniable great pleasure” to see Stewart triumph in the role and witness his series become the No 1 late night show on network TV.
Colbert revealed last week that CBS would be axing The Late Show from May 2026, a move the network said was “purely a financial decision” but which came just days after its parent company Paramount agreed to pay $16m to Donald Trump after he complained that a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris last year was manipulatively edited.
Colbert criticised Trump on Monday’s edition of The Late Show, after the president said that he “loved that Colbert got fired”. Responding to his post, Colbert said: “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?” Looking into the “Eloquence Cam”, the talk show host did not pull his punches, telling the president: “Go f*** yourself.”
Meanwhile, on The Daily Show, Stewart pointed the finger of blame at numerous parties, not just Trump. “I think the answer is in the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America’s institutions at this very moment, institutions that have chosen not to fight the vengeful and vindictive actions of our pubic hair doodling Commander in Chief,” he said. “This is not the moment to give in.”
Jon Stewart reacts to CBS cancelling "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and tells corporations and advertisers to "sack up" pic.twitter.com/v8MrNpg28w
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) July 22, 2025
In a joint statement to CBS News, Paramount and CBS bosses said: “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season. 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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
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