Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers and other stars take over ‘The Late Show' audience to support Stephen Colbert after cancellation news

New York Post

22-07-2025

A slew of comedy's biggest stars — including Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Adam Sandler and more — took over the audience of 'The Late Show' with Stephen Colbert Monday night in a show of support after news of the talk show's cancellation mere days after being nominated for multiple Emmys.
The battalion of comics, including several competing late-night talk show hosts, headed over to the rival Ed Sullivan Theater to speak out against CBS's decision to axe the top-rated talk show.
The cameos began when Colbert brought out 'Weird Al' Yankovic and Lin-Manuel Miranda to play some music to cheer up heartbroken fans.
6 A slew of comedy's biggest stars took over the audience of 'The Late Show' with Stephen Colbert Monday night.
CBS
The pair played Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida' — a bit poking fun at the Coldplay concert CEO cheating scandal — as the cameras scanned the audience and landed on several famous spectators.
Andy Cohen stole a smooch from Anderson Cooper; Fallon and Meyers exchanged high-fives while drinking beers; Sandler, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (and Robert Smigel), and Christopher McDonald ate fried food in the stands; and Oliver and Stewart threw an excited fit over being on camera.
The skit ended with the camera panning over to an animated President Trump holding a Paramount sign before the Trump cartoon ducks, like Astronomer CEO Andy Byron did when caught with alleged HR chief mistress Kristin Cabot on camera at a Coldplay concert last week.
Colbert took a shot at Paramount — CBS's parent company — last week when he slammed the $16 million settlement it brokered with Trump over the station's controversial '60 Minutes' interview of Kamala Harris during the 2024 election campaign.
Less than three days later, the company announced it was cancelling 'The Late Night Show' after May 2026.
6 The cameos began when Colbert brought out 'Weird Al' Yankovic and Lin-Manuel Miranda to play some music to cheer up heartbroken fans.
CBS
6 Fellow late-night TV hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers made an appearance in the audience.
CBS
During Monday night's episode, Colbert, who took over the show following the legendary David Letterman's departure in 2015, didn't shy away from the topic of his cancellation — using his monologue to bash the network's decision.
'Folks, I'm gonna say it. Cancel culture has gone too far,' he joked at the beginning of the show.
The CBS mainstay, while being critically acclaimed, reportedly started losing upwards of $40 million annually off of an already steep $100 million budget per season.
6 John Oliver and Jon Stewart also made a cameo appearance.
CBS
6 'Happy Gilmore' stars Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald were also in attendance.
CBS
'$40 million's a big number. I could see us losing $24 million, but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million? Oh yeah,' Colbert added, referring to the settlement.
The comedian said he doesn't hold ill will towards CBS, but questioned the reasoning for his show's cancellation.
'How could it purely be a financial decision if 'The Late Show' is number one in ratings?' he asked.
6 (L-R) Oliver, Stewart, Fallon, Meyers, Bravo's Andy Cohen, and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
CBS
Jimmy Kimmel, whose own ABC late-night show is currently on hiatus, was notably missing from 'The Late Show' stands but had earlier shared a message in support of his competitor on social media.
'Love you, Stephen. F—k you and all your Sheldons, CBS,' Kimmel wrote on Instagram last Thursday.
Monday night's guests, actor Dave Franco and Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh, also offered their praise of Colbert and sorrow at the show's cancellation.