‘Save Colbert' rally in New York City touts petition signed by 250,000 people

The Guardian

4 days ago

Several dozen people on Wednesday took to the streets outside the Manhattan studio of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to call for CBS and its parent company, Paramount, to reverse the cancellation of the popular show.
During the rally, which began at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater and wound its way to the Paramount headquarters in Times Square, demonstrators delivered 10 boxes filled with 'Save Colbert' petitions to the company.
In recent days, more than 250,000 people have signed. Among the supporters are multiple Democratic lawmakers including California's Ro Khanna and Ted Lieu, as well as The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi, comedian Kristen Schaal, Veep executive producer David Mandel and actor Frances Fisher.
The petition, led by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, condemned Paramount's decision as 'blatantly political', adding: 'America needs Stephen Colbert's voice now more than ever. Save the Late Show.'
PCCC's co-founder, Adam Green, said: 'This is so much bigger than one TV show or even one network. This is about the distressing trend of people in institutions pre-emptively caving and complying to a White House that has shown it will abuse power.'
'If dissenting voices like Stephen Colbert's can be silenced, in addition to universities losing their leadership and law firms being co-opted, that is yet another step down the road to tyranny and authoritarianism,' Green added.
The widespread outrage in recent days follows Paramount's sudden decision to cancel the show, which came after Paramount settled what the Writers Guild of America condemned as a 'baseless lawsuit' brought against 60 Minutes and CBS News by Donald Trump for $16m. Trump had claimed that CBS News misleadingly edited an interview with Kamala Harris last fall during the presidential campaign.
Following Paramount's settlement, Colbert – who has long been a critic of Trump on his show – called Paramount's settlement a 'big, fat bribe' on air last week.
'As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended … I don't know if anything – anything – will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16m would help,' Colbert said.
CBS executives said that the decision to cancel the show was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night', adding that it was 'not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount'.
The public remains unconvinced. Outside the Ed Sullivan Theater on Wednesday afternoon, dozens of protesters including New York lawmakers and former Paramount subscribers gathered in opposition.
Many carried signs in protest against CBS and Paramount, with some saying: 'Dump Trump. Keep Colbert', 'This is Complete Bull Shit' and 'Don't Bow to the Orange King'.
Addressing the crowd, Susan Staal, a longtime viewer of the show, said: 'This country needs dissenting voices. This country has comedians, secondary to journalists, who are now being infringed on free speech, the bedrock of this democracy … We know how bogus and sinister this decision actually was.'
Echoing similar sentiments, Heather Cousins, a former Paramount subscriber, called the show's cancellation a 'blatant act of bribery and against our constitutional rights of free speech', adding: 'Paramount and CBS are destroying culture and history in New York City. The Late Show is a representation of hope in a time where our country has very little.'
Saima Akhter, a former Meta employee who said she was fired by the company last year over her anti-war activism on Palestine, also addressed the crowd, warning of growing attempts at censorship.
'We have a serious problem in this country of censorship of information, the silencing of people who speak out against fascist rules imposed by this government and the oligarchy, and the dangerous ties between fascist Trump, bought-out politicians and … corrupt corporations,' Akhter said.
She went on: 'The control of narrative is the most powerful thing someone can possess … and at a time where things feel so crazy, we need voices like Colbert to be a voice of reason, to say it like it is.'
Democratic lawmakers Tony Simone, a New York state assembly member, and New York City council member Erick Bottcher joined the protesters.
'I want to tell the institutions in our nation, from higher ed to the media to CBS: stop kissing Trump's ass … This [show] is a New York institution, an American institution,' Simone said, adding: 'We must save Colbert, we must have him back on air … When you come for one American, you come for all of us.'
Similarly, Bottcher said: 'We are not just standing in front of a theater. We are standing up for truth, for free press, for democracy, for free speech. The cancellation … isn't just a bad programming decision, it is a political decision.'
Bottcher continued: 'This is about fear and pre-compliance infecting our institutions from the newsroom to the boardroom … According to CBS, it was a financial decision. We're not stupid … We see what's happening. We will not let a powerful media company silence a truth-teller to appease fascists.'
Following the speeches, protesters wound through the streets of Midtown Manhattan, chanting 'Save Colbert' and 'Fight back!' Accompanying them was a drummer wearing a hat that said: 'Make Orwell fiction again', a nod to the Nineteen Eighty-Four author, as well as a tuba player.
Upon arriving outside the Paramount headquarters, the protestors were met with several security guards, as well as two New York police officers standing, who prevented them from entering the building.
As protesters put the boxes of petitions outside the building entrance, one woman held up a sign.
'Only a butterfly should be a monarch,' it read.