Stephen Colbert addresses claims ‘Late Show’ was canceled for Trump: 'A reasonable thing to think'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Stephen Colbert has opened up about the unexpected cancellation of 'The Late Show', revealing his shock over CBS’ decision to end the top-rated program and suggesting it may have been influenced by his criticism of the network’s parent company Paramount's settlement with Donald Trump.

In a candid interview with GQ, the 60-year-old host reflected on the end of an era, the network’s reasoning, and his plans for the future.

Stephen Colbert was 'surprised' by CBS' decision to end 'The Late Show' 

Speaking poolside at the Chateau Marmont, Stephen Colbert admitted that he was “surprised” by CBS’ decision to end 'The Late Show' despite it being number one in its time slot.

“Listen, every show’s got to end at some time,” he said. “You can’t worry about that. You got to be a big boy about that. But I think we’re the first number one show to ever get canceled.”

The comedian confirmed that the series will conclude in May 2026, noting that the decision came without any warning. CBS has maintained that the move was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” though Colbert said the timing, just two days after he criticized Paramount Global for settling Trump’s lawsuit, was hard to ignore. 

Colbert reiterated that his firing came shortly after he called the network’s $16 million settlement with Trump a “big fat bribe.” He said he was told CBS was “getting out of late-night altogether because it’s no longer profitable,” but questioned the logic.

“I can understand why people would have that reaction because CBS or the parent corporation, I’m not going to say who made that decision, because I don’t know; no one’s ever going to tell us, decided to cut a check for $16 million to the president of the United States over a lawsuit that their own lawyers said is completely without merit,” he remarked.

“It is self-evident that that is damaging to the reputation of the network... So it is unclear to me why anyone would do that other than to curry favor with a single individual,” Colbert added. 

The comedian clarified, “If people have theories that associate me with that, it’s a reasonable thing to think, because CBS or the corporation clearly did it once. But my side of the street is clean and I have no interest in picking up a broom or adding to refuse on the other side of the street. Not my problem.”

Stephen Colbert reflects on CBS partnership

Despite the abrupt cancellation, Stephen Colbert expressed gratitude toward CBS for their long-standing support. “It’s one of the reasons why this was so surprising and so shocking that there was no preamble to this,” he said. “They’ve been great partners. They really have. They’ve been very supportive... We didn’t quite figure out what we wanted to do [at first], but they stood by us and we delivered for them what we wanted.”

He described feeling a “sense of relief” about no longer needing to “put on the snorkel and get into the sewer every day,” referring to the grind of nightly political satire. Still, he said he hopes the final episodes of 'The Late Show' will end “gracefully.”