Jon Stewart defended his friend Stephen Colbert in an f-bomb-filled monologue against CBS and the Trump administration
CBS, which is owned by Paramount, said the cancellation was "purely a financial decision."
But Stewart said Paramount was capitulating to Trump over its proposed merger with Skydance Media.
Jon Stewart says CBS's cancellation of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" has less to do with the show's financials and more to do with getting into the Trump administration's good books.
Stewart slammed CBS and its decision during his expletive-filled monologue on "The Daily Show" that aired on Monday night. Both Stewart's and Colbert's shows share the same parent company, Paramount Global.
"Now, obviously, I am certainly not the most objective to comment on this matter," Stewart said of his longtime friendship with Colbert.
Stewart acknowledged the financial challenges that come with trying to run a late-night television show like Colbert's. Stewart said in his monologue that "late night TV is a struggling financial model" and is akin to "operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records."
"But when your industry is faced with changes, you don't just call it a day. My God, when CDs stopped selling, they didn't just go, 'Oh well, music, it's been a good run,'" Stewart said.
Stewart said CBS's cancellation of Colbert's show raised questions over whether it was "purely financial" or the "path of least resistance" for Paramount's proposed merger with Skydance Media.
"I believe CBS lost the benefit of the doubt two weeks prior when they sold out their flagship news program to pay an extortion fee to said president," Stewart said.
Earlier this month, Paramount said it had agreed to pay President Donald Trump a $16 million settlement. Trump had filed a lawsuit against CBS that accused the network of "deceptive editing" of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris on "60 Minutes."
"Look, I understand the corporate fear. I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake," Stewart said.
"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 fucking shows. That's what made you that money," he added.
Representatives for Stewart, Colbert, CBS, and the White House didn't respond to requests for comment.
'Fear and pre-compliance'
Stewart said that capitulating to Trump wouldn't play out the way Paramount expects. He referenced the president's recent lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after it reported on a "bawdy" birthday letter Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein on the latter's 50th birthday.
"Donald Trump is suing Rupert Murdoch. The owner of Fox News, the man other than Biden may be most responsible for getting Trump elected," Stewart said.
"Fox spends 24 hours a day blowing Trump, and it's not enough. Imagine suing someone mid-blow. How could you? 'Finish up. Finish up down there, and I'll see you in court,'" he added.
Stewart added that the reason Colbert's show was ending wasn't its financial health but the "fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America's institutions."
"This is not the moment to give in. I'm not giving in," Stewart said.
During his half-hour monologue, Stewart said versions of the f-word more than two dozen times.
CBS said in a statement on July 18 that the cancellation of Colbert's show was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." It added that the decision was "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."
Last week, Puck's Matt Belloni reported that Colbert's show had been losing more than $40 million a year. This is in spite of Colbert's popularity with viewers. His show was the only late-night show to gain viewers this year, according to ratings from the American audience measurement company Nielsen.
Advertising revenue across late-night shows like Colbert's has been dropping, too. Ad revenue for late-night fell from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million in 2024, The New York Times reported, citing data it had obtained from the advertising data firm Guideline.
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