‘For the next 10 months, the gloves are off': Colbert, Stewart, and Fallon sound off on CBS ‘Late Show' cancelation

Boston Globe

22-07-2025

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Stephen Colbert
After briefly commenting on the news last week, Colbert kicked off Monday's show by addressing the elephant in the room. Joking that 'cancel culture has gone too far,' Colbert spoke about the impact of the announcement and what he plans to do next.
'Over the weekend, it sunk in that they're killing off our show, but they made one mistake, they left me alive,' he said while looking at camera and removing his glasses. 'And now, for the next 10 months, the gloves are off.'
Colbert later questioned CBS calling the move just a financial decision when his series continues to be 'No. 1 in ratings,' and poked fun at
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'I could see us losing $24 million, but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million... oh yeah,' Colbert said.
The late-night host also responded to Trump's recent social media posts celebrating the cancelation.
'How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go [expletive] yourself,' Colbert said.
But when it came to Trump's social media post saying that rival host Jimmy Kimmel 'is next,' Colbert joked that there's only room for one late-night martyr.
'No, absolutely not Kimmel, I am the martyr,' Colbert said. 'There's only room for one on this cross and I got to tell you, the view is fantastic from up here.'
Later in the show, Colbert brought out 'Hamilton' star Lin-Manuel Miranda and 'Weird Al' Yankovic to cheer up the audience about the show ending next year.
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Jon Stewart
Stewart, who hosts 'The Daily Show' on Mondays, didn't hold back during his monologue, noting that the show's network is also owned by Paramount. After lauding Colbert's work over the years, from his early days on 'The Daily Show to 'The Colbert Report" to taking over for Letterman on 'The Late Show,' Stewart called out CBS for its decision.
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'The fact that CBS didn't try to save their No. 1 rated network late-night franchise that's been on the air for over three decades is part of what's making everybody wonder, was this purely financial or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger?' Stewart said, later adding that the move was a way to assuage 'a fragile and vengeful president.'
'I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake. But understand this, truly, the shows that you now seek to cancel, censor, and control, a not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those [expletive] shows,' Stewart said. 'That's what made you that money, shows that say something, shows that take a stand, shows that are unafraid.'
Stewart went on to call out, not just CBS, but all institutions and organizations capitulating to every whim of the administration.
'If you're trying to figure out why Stephen's show is ending, I don't think the answer can be found in some smoking-gun email or phone call from Trump to CBS executives or in CBS's QuickBooks spreadsheets on the financial health of late night,' said Stewart. '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. This is not the moment to give in. I'm not giving in. I'm not going anywhere... I think.'
Jimmy Fallon
Even Fallon weighed in on the news briefly during his monologue.
'Welcome to 'The Tonight Show.' I am your host, well, at least for tonight,' Fallon joked. 'I don't like it. I don't like what's going on one bit. These are crazy times.'
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John Oliver and Jimmy Kimmel
Over the weekend, 'Last Week Tonight' host
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