Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' rant turns ire to Paramount amid Colbert cancellation
The "Daily Show" host took a large chunk of his airtime Monday night to lament the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," a late-night comedy institution currently anchored by his longtime friend and political satire peer. Colbert got his big break on "The Daily Show" as a correspondent in the early aughts, working for Stewart before launching his own Comedy Central spinoff, "The Colbert Report."
In 2015, Colbert took over CBS' "Late Show," replacing David Letterman and steering the show to ratings success.
"Watching Stephen exceed all expectations in the role, and become the No. 1 late-night show on network television, has been an undeniable great pleasure for me as a viewer and as his friend," Stewart said during his July 21 monologue.
Stephen Colbert's life and career, from 'Daily Show' to 'Late Show' cancellation
He then turned his ire to CBS and its parent company, Paramount, which also owns Comedy Central. The decision to cancel the "Late Show," the company said in a statement, was "purely financial." Some in the industry have cast doubt on that claim, however, arguing instead that it may be the result of political kowtowing.
Paramount is seeking the FCC's approval for a proposed $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.
Stewart falls firmly in the camp of skeptics.
"Now, I acknowledge losing money. Late-night TV is a struggling financial model. We are all basically operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records," he joked. "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.'
"I believe CBS lost the benefit of the doubt two weeks prior," Stewart added, "when they sold out their flagship news program to pay an extortion fee to said president."
His comments reference a large settlement Paramount paid in response to a defamantion lawsuit from President Donald Trump. The company forked over $16 million in response to a suit that accused "60 Minutes" of editing an interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
USA TODAY has reached out to Paramount for comment.
"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' QuickBooks spreadsheets on the financial health of Late Night," Stewart said, crescendoing his monologue on a more serious note.
"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," he said. "This is not the moment to give in. I'm not giving in! I'm not going anywhere – I think."
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