- - - Jimmy Kimmel Says ‘F— You CBS’ for Canceling ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ as Speculation Stirs If the Series Is Ending for ‘Political Reasons’

J. Kim MurphyJuly 17, 2025 at 11:34 PM

Jimmy Kimmel gave a salute to “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” — and blasted rival network CBS — on Thursday evening, hours after CBS announced that it is canceling Colbert’s series in May 2026 and retiring the “Late Show” brand.

“Love you Stephen,” Kimmel wrote on his Instagram story, captioning a clip of Colbert’s on-air announcement that his show would be ending. “Fuck you and all your Sheldons CBS.”

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Shortly after Colbert revealed that “The Late Show” would be ending during his taping Thursday, CBS confirmed the plans, justifying the cancelation as a “purely financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and emphasizing that “it is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

The late night format’s decline amid the rise of digital media has become a well-known business trend in recent years. Nonetheless, the timing of Colbert’s cancelation has raised eyebrows among commentators, indicative of a widespread belief that media companies are censoring themselves and capitulating to President Trump.

The decision to end “The Late Show” comes roughly two weeks after Paramount reached an agreement with Trump to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit it had once described as “meritless,” in which Trump accused “60 Minutes” of deceptively editing an interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The settlement signaled a belief that ending the legal dispute with Trump could help speed federal approval on a planned deal for Skydance Media to acquire Paramount.

Colbert has been a longstanding critic of Trump, regularly skewering the President in his late night monologues since his tenure as “Late Show” host began in 2015.

“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just three days after Colbert called out CBS owner Paramount for its $16 settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery,” Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in a statement on social media. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”

“Stephen Colbert is a profoundly good and deeply talented man with a great staff and an excellent show. They all deserve better,” said Andy Richter, Conan O’Brien’s late night righthand man. The Bluesky post came alongside a screenshot of a texting conversation in which Richter’s contact simply wrote “Trump” and “Mother fucker.”

“The financial side of that business has definitely been under pressure, as CBS release asserts, but if CBS believes it can escape without some serious questions about capitulating to Trump, they are seriously deluded,” wrote former New York Times media reporter Bill Carter, now editor-at-large for Late Nighter.

“When media companies cancel late night shows to appease fascist presidents, America fucking ends,” TV exec producer Mike Schur (“Parks and Recreation,” “The Good Place,” “A Man on the Inside”) wrote on Bluesky. “If you think for one second that this decision has nothing to do with Trump, don’t worry, he will brag about it within the next 24 hours and disabuse you of that notion. The #1 way to explain America working properly is by saying ‘comedians can make fun of he President on TV.’ A good way to explain fascism is ‘the President forces companies to fire those comedians as a condition of allowing them to conduct business.’”

See more reactions to the ending of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” below.

Sorry to hear @CBS is canceling one of the best shows they have. Wishing all the people who work so hard on that show all the best.@colbertlateshow

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) July 18, 2025

Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled.If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.

— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) July 17, 2025

either you fall in line or you lose your show https://t.co/8ybXxxafFa

— Desus MF Nice💯 (@desusnice) July 17, 2025

“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” top CBS executives said in a statement announcing the news. “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” pic.twitter.com/VXp4zWeT1e

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 18, 2025

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