{"id":74,"date":"2026-05-20T09:37:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=74"},"modified":"2026-05-20T09:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:37:16","slug":"the-real-reason-stephen-colbert-got-canceled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=74","title":{"rendered":"The real reason Stephen Colbert got canceled"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Stephen Colbert\u2019s last show is this Thursday evening. <\/p>\n

CBS refused to renew his contract, and you know exactly why: He mocked and criticized Trump. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s scheme to create \u201955 states across three continents\u2019 exposed: analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

CBS says it\u2019s ending \u201cThe Late Show\u201d because the show was costing CBS some $40 million a year. That\u2019s utter bull—-. Colbert allowed CBS to charge higher fees to local affiliates, because it attracted millions of viewers to those affiliates\u2019 11 p.m. news programs in anticipation of \u201cThe Late Show\u201d airing right after. The show was also a promotional gold mine for CBS, whose series stars were often interviewed by Colbert. No wonder CBS was \u201cfeverish\u201d to lock Colbert into a new contract only three years ago. <\/p>\n

What really happened couldn\u2019t be clearer. F\u00fchrer Trump was furious at Colbert\u2019s mocking and publicly called for CBS to cancel him (or \u201cput him to sleep NOW\u201d as Trump wrote in one social media post). At the same time, CBS\u2019s parent company, Paramount, was on the verge of a lucrative merger deal that Trump could interfere with. <\/p>\n

Paramount had already sucked up to Trump by offering him $16 million to settle a lawsuit he brought against CBS News\u2019s \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d although he had almost no chance of prevailing in court.<\/p>\n

In a monologue, Colbert called the settlement a \u201cbig fat bribe,\u201d which it was. Days later he got word he\u2019d been canceled. About a week after that, the deal was approved.<\/p>\n

Before Colbert started at CBS, he hosted Comedy Central\u2019s \u201cThe Colbert Report,\u201d where he played a right-wing, blowhard, curmudgeonly TV host. <\/p>\n

I was often a guest, presumably because I was a good foil for the blowhard Colbert was acting. (I\u2019ve also been a guest on his \u201cThe Late Show.\u201d) <\/p>\n

The first time I came to do \u201cThe Colbert Report,\u201d I was nervous. I didn\u2019t know how to respond to someone who\u2019d be acting<\/em> as a conservative —hole but wasn\u2019t one in real life. <\/p>\n

I was sitting alone in the greenroom when Colbert popped in. He introduced himself, sat down, and then, smiling, said, \u201cJust wanted to warn you that I play a real jerk out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I know,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ve watched the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood. Don\u2019t argue with me. Just play along,\u201d he counseled. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll try not to argue,\u201d I said. \u201cBut I go on so many of these combative shows that I may automatically start arguing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s fine. Just let me do the heavy lifting. I\u2019ll be so obnoxious that viewers will see the wisdom in your argument!\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSounds good,\u201d I said, still nervous.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust have fun!\u201d Colbert advised, before vanishing to his set. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s one of our discussions.<\/p>\n

Colbert was anything but<\/em> a right-wing jerk. In fact, as I\u2019ve come to know him over the years, he\u2019s remarkably self-effacing and wicked smart. He\u2019s progressive in his politics, of course, but never dogmatic. Even when he skewers Trump on his \u201cThe Late Show,\u201d he does it with gentle humor and no trace of anger or bitterness. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Jews get blamed for everything\u2019: Dem senator warns about rise in violent threats<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done many thousands of interviews over my adult life. Some interviewers, like the late Bill Moyers, have been so thoughtful and well-prepared that I\u2019ve barely had to think; I just fall into a natural conversation with them. Others are so stilted or slick that they hardly listen to what I say, and the interview has the tortuous feel of gears grinding from one topic to another. <\/p>\n

Colbert is like Moyers in being well-prepared and listening intently. But he adds a rapid-fire wit that can make a serious point while putting an audience in stitches. <\/p>\n

When Colbert interviewed me last August about my latest book, CBS had just announced that his contract wouldn\u2019t be renewed and that by late May the show would be off the air for good.<\/p>\n

A stagehand met me at the side door to the old Ed Sullivan Theater. As he led me to the greenroom, I asked him how everyone there was taking the news. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot well,\u201d he said. After a pause he said, \u201cWe\u2019re like a family here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some time later, Stephen came by the greenroom. I asked him how he was doing. \u201cOh, I\u2019m fine,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll find something else to do. But there are about a hundred people here who will be out of jobs, and frankly I\u2019m worried about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

They are<\/em> like a family \u2014 Stephen Colbert, his executive producer, the segment producers and directors, showrunners, writers, cameramen, gaffers, grips, lighters, stagehands, custodians, musicians. Stephen has treated them like a family. His respect and concern for them is unusual in the business but consistent with the courtesy and kindness I discovered the first time I met him. <\/p>\n

In sharp contrast is the way CBS and Paramount\u2019s new owners, Larry and David Ellison, have treated Colbert and all those who have made \u201cThe Late Show\u201d such an important part of our entertainment and political firmament. <\/p>\n

Behind the Ellisons lurks Trump, who treats everyone like s— except strongmen he can\u2019t control such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. <\/p>\n

After this Thursday\u2019s show, the Ed Sullivan Theater will go dark, and we\u2019ll lose one of the nation\u2019s funniest and most courageous, truthful, and gentlemanly critics of Trump and his lawless regime. Our society and democracy will be the worse for it. <\/p>\n

Farewell, and thank you, Stephen.<\/p>\n

Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https:\/\/robertreich.substack.com\/.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Former aide: Wall Street is now regretting voting for Trump<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephen Colbert\u2019s last show is this Thursday evening. CBS refused to renew his contract, and you know exactly why: He mocked and criticized Trump. CBS says it\u2019s ending \u201cThe Late Show\u201d because the show was costing CBS some $40 million a year. That\u2019s utter bull—-. Colbert allowed CBS to charge highe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe real reason Stephen Colbert got canceled - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=74\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The real reason Stephen Colbert got canceled - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stephen Colbert\u2019s last show is this Thursday evening. 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