Writers Guild Calls for Investigation After ‘Late Show' Cancellation, Citing Bribery Concerns
The union's East and West Coast branches asked that New York state Attorney General Letitia James open an inquiry into 'potential wrongdoing' at the company in a strongly worded statement on Friday. The WGA East and West pointed to the precedent of the California State Senate, which in May launched an inquiry into Paramount Global's controversial $16 million settlement with President Trump over the editing of a Kamala Harris 60 Minutes interview in 2024.
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'Cancelations are part of the business, but a corporation terminating a show in bad faith due to explicit or implicit political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society,' the union stated. 'Paramount's decision comes against a backdrop of relentless attacks on a free press by President Trump, through lawsuits against CBS and ABC, threatened litigation of media organizations with critical coverage, and the unconscionable defunding of PBS and NPR.'
The union further requested of 'elected leaders' in general that they 'hold those responsible to account' and 'demand answers' about the cancellation.
The WGA's request is not a new one. Paramount has been awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission of its proposed $8 billion merger with Skydance Entertainment for some time. After Paramount settled its 60 Minutes lawsuit with Trump, a complaint that many legal experts posited would not hold up in court, news of the California State Senate inquiry followed. Then Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into whether the transaction had violated any anti-bribery laws.
Almost as soon as The Late Show cancellation made headlines on Thursday, speculation erupted over whether the move could be some form of capitulation to the president. Colbert, a longtime Trump critic, rose in popularity during the president's first administration with a strong political focus and pointed nightly commentary about his actions and remarks.
In a statement, Paramount Global co-CEO George Cheeks, CBS Entertainment vice president Amy Reinsenbach and CBS Studios president David Stape pushed back against these hypotheses. They called the cancellation 'a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night' that was 'not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.'
Trump celebrated the cancellation of The Late Show on his Truth Social platform on Friday morning. 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,' he said. 'His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.'
Read the WGA's full statement below.
On July 2nd, Paramount agreed to settle a baseless lawsuit brought against 60 Minutes and CBS News by President Trump for $16 million. On July 15, during a regular show of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert went on-air and called the settlement a 'big fat bribe' in exchange for a favorable decision on the proposed merger between Paramount and Skydance, a charge currently under investigation in California.
Less than 48 hours later, on July 17, Paramount canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a show currently performing first in its timeslot, giving vague references to the program's 'financial performance' as the only explanation. For ten years, the show has been one of the most successful, beloved and profitable programs on CBS, entertaining an audience of millions on late night television, on streaming services and across social media.
Given Paramount's recent capitulation to President Trump in the CBS News lawsuit, the Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that The Late Show's cancelation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval
Cancelations are part of the business, but a corporation terminating a show in bad faith due to explicit or implicit political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society. Paramount's decision comes against a backdrop of relentless attacks on a free press by President Trump, through lawsuits against CBS and ABC, threatened litigation of media organizations with critical coverage, and the unconscionable defunding of PBS and NPR.
The Writers Guild of America calls on New York State Attorney General Letitia James, no stranger to prosecuting Trump for illegal business practices, to join California and launch an investigation into potential wrongdoing at Paramount. We call on our elected leaders to hold those responsible to account, to demand answers about why this beloved program was canceled and to assure the public that Colbert and his writers were not censored due to their views or the whims of the President.
July 18, 3:55 p.m. Updated with comment from Paramount Global.
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