Stephen Colbert had a very blunt message for Donald Trump after the president celebrated CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show.
In his Monday monologue, Colbert brought up a Truth Social post Trump made on Friday, where he had written: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”
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.”
Trump’s post also mentioned Jimmy Kimmel, writing that he heard the Jimmy Kimmel Live host was “next” and has “even less talent than Colbert”.
Referring to that, Colbert said: “Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There’s only room for one on this cross. And the view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!”
The talk show host added that for the next 10 months as the show winds down, “the gloves would be off”.
CBS confirmed last week it was bringing the long-running Late Show to an end in 2026, blaming “financial decisions.”
However, multiple CBS staffers have told The Independent they believe it is a continuation of the “Trump shakedown” that began with parent company Paramount’s settlement of the 60 Minutes lawsuit over an interview with Kamala Harris, which Trump claimed was “election interference.”
The Late Show cancellation was met with uproar from celebrities, fellow talk show hosts and viewers.
“Love you, Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons, CBS,” Kimmel wrote last week in an Instagram Story, referring to the CBS show The Big Bang Theory, which has spawned several spin-offs, including Young Sheldon and Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage.
Severance star Adam Scott and producer/director Ben Stiller, as well as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have called out the cancellation.
At the beginning of Monday’s broadcast, Colbert said that since the network was “killing off our show,” but had left him alive, he would be speaking “unvarnished truth to power”.
He began by offering his real opinion on Donald Trump and said: “I don’t care for him. Doesn’t have the skillset to be president. Not a good fit, that’s all.”
On the network, Colbert called them “great partners,” but also questioned their justification for the cancellation asking: “How could it be purely be a financial decision if The Late Show is No. 1 in ratings?”
CBS bosses said in their statement that the end of The Late Show after 32 years was purely due to late-night television becoming unprofitable because of dwindling ad revenues and high production costs. But the decision comes at the same time as Paramount’s pending $8.4bn merger with Skydance, a production company financed by pro-Trump billionaire Larry Ellison and run by his son David, whom the president has personally lauded.
Colbert, who took over the show from David Letterman in 2015, announced the network’s decision during the broadcast on 17 July.
“Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May,” the comedian announced, causing the studio audience to boo loudly. “ Yeah, I share your feelings. It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is just all going away.”
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