Legendary late-night host David Letterman has labeled CBS and Skydance executives as “goons” following the controversial cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Letterman accused the network of political motivations behind the decision, rather than the financial reasons CBS has publicly claimed.
David Letterman calls out CBS after Stephen Colbert’s late show cancellation
David Letterman has defended Stephen Colbert, calling him a “precise, crisp, witty political satirist.” During an interview on The Barbara Gaines Show, Letterman claimed that Colbert had successfully targeted the current administration. He suggested that CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show and retire the franchise entirely was influenced by Paramount’s impending merger with Skydance Media, owned by David Ellison.
“They did not do the correct thing,” Letterman said. “They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled.” CBS has insisted the cancellation was a financial decision, citing challenges in the late-night TV scene. However, Letterman dismissed this explanation. He pointed out that the network had renewed the show for another season before abruptly canceling it. “That’s another huge chunk of money they’re going to lose, according to them,” he said sarcastically. “I don’t think it was money.”
Letterman speculated that CBS executives feared Colbert’s political commentary could attract unwanted scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) amid the merger. He mocked Ellison and his team as the “oracle boys.”
“There’s no fairness to these goons,” Letterman continued. “These guys are bottom feeders… They just want to make sure that on top of buying something that doesn’t have the same value as it had 30 years ago, they don’t want to be hassled by the United States government.”
The backlash comes after CBS announced the end of The Late Show franchise. This came despite it being the #1 late-night program for nine straight seasons. The timing raised eyebrows after Paramount decided to settle a $16 million lawsuit with Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview.
